Accord party in fresh legal trouble over 2027 presidential ticket

A chieftain of the Accord Party, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has taken legal action against his party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its failure to recognise him as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed July 14, 2026, to hear the case.

In the suit, Olawepo-Hashim is asking the court to order the Accord Party to officially recognise him as its presidential candidate and submit his name to INEC.

He argued that he emerged as the sole candidate and winner of the party’s presidential primary held on May 30, 2026, but the party failed to upload his name to INEC’s nomination portal.

According to him, the party’s action violates the Electoral Act 2026, the Nigerian Constitution and INEC’s guidelines for political parties.

Olawepo-Hashim is seeking a court declaration that the party breached the law by refusing to forward his name to INEC. He also wants an order compelling the party to submit his name as its presidential candidate.

As an alternative, he asked the court to direct the Accord Party to conduct a fresh presidential primary in which he would be allowed to participate if the court declines to order the submission of his name.

In an affidavit filed before the court, Olawepo-Hashim said he is a registered and financially active member of the Accord Party. He stated that he contributed ₦7 million to support the party’s electronic membership registration programme.

He also said he paid the required ₦50 million nomination fee to contest the presidential primary and emerged as the only aspirant and winner of the exercise.

According to him, the primary election was monitored by INEC officials in line with electoral laws.

He further alleged that the party did not provide aspirants with the guidelines required for the primary election, as stipulated by INEC regulations, but he participated based on assurances from the party leadership.

His lawyer, Henry Akunebu (SAN), argued that political parties must obey the Electoral Act, their constitutions and INEC guidelines when selecting candidates. He told the court that once a valid primary election has been conducted, the party is legally required to submit the winner’s name to INEC.

During the proceedings, INEC’s lawyer, H.S. Danjuma, requested more time to file the commission’s response to the suit. The request was granted by Justice Mohammed Umar.

The judge accepted INEC’s documents as properly filed and served after the commission explained that its legal team was only instructed on July 6.

Although the Accord Party did not oppose the request for more time, Olawepo-Hashim’s lawyer urged the court to prevent INEC from participating in the case, arguing that the commission failed to respond within the time allowed under the rules governing pre-election cases.

However, Justice Umar adjourned the matter until July 14, 2026, for the hearing of the substantive suit.

The case is expected to clarify how the Electoral Act 2026 applies to the nomination of candidates by political parties and could have implications for internal party democracy ahead of the 2027 general election.