The Accord Party has questioned the exclusion of its presidential candidate, Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The party said it was unaware of the reason Olawepo-Hashim was omitted from the list, expressing confidence that the court would resolve the matter in his favour and uphold his candidacy.
Dele Oladeji, Lagos State Chairman and Secretary of the party’s South-West zone, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday.
Oladeji said three members of the party initially contested for its presidential ticket but that Olawepo-Hashim eventually emerged as the consensus candidate after the party adopted him.
He said the party was surprised to learn through media reports that Accord did not have a presidential candidate on the INEC list.
“But whatever it is, he was not captured by INEC. We don’t know why; it is not known to the party,” Oladeji said.
According to him, Olawepo-Hashim fulfilled the requirements for the party’s presidential ticket, including payment of the prescribed nomination fees, before emerging as its consensus candidate.
He said the presidential candidate had since approached the court to challenge his exclusion from the INEC list.
“For whatever reason, he was not listed by INEC, and this has led him to approach the court. The man met every requirement after paying the nomination fees,” Oladeji said.
The party chieftain said Accord was relying on the judiciary to resolve the dispute and restore Olawepo-Hashim’s candidacy.
He said the party’s national leadership remained optimistic about securing a favourable judgment and was preparing to contest the 2027 election under the Accord platform.
“We are going into the election as Accord, and we are winning as Accord,” he said.
Oladeji added that the party’s National Executive Council and national officers shared the optimism that Olawepo-Hashim’s mandate would be restored.
He said the expectation was also shared by Accord members across the country.
Oladeji also dismissed reports that the controversy surrounding the presidential ticket was caused by factionalisation within the party.
He alleged that the party only had an “impostor” in the person of Prof. Imumolen, without providing further details.
On the possibility of Accord entering into an alliance with another political party if the dispute was not resolved, Oladeji said there was no such plan.
“We are not aligning with other political parties,” he said.
He reiterated that the party’s focus remained on securing a favourable court judgment for Olawepo-Hashim.
NPO Reports that the controversy trailed INEC’s publication of its final list of 18 presidential candidates and their running mates for the January 2027 general elections.
The list comprises 16 male and two female presidential candidates.
Among those listed are President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and Oyo State Governor Oluseyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
Others include Sandy Ojang Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Rufai Adekunle Omo-Aje of the Action Alliance (AA), Abbas-Bin Aliyu of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Yusuf Kabiru of the Action Peoples Party (APP) and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC).
Also on the list are Sunday Adenuga of the Boot Party (BP), Adebisi Olusoji of the Democratic Labour Alliance (DLA), Sunday Okereke of the Labour Party (LP), Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Peter Agada of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) and Nwanyanwu Daberechukwu of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The two female presidential candidates are Ada Elizabeth Frederick Okwori of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and Nkem Esther Okereke of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).
Accord’s presidential candidate, Olawepo-Hashim, was not included in the published list, prompting the party to seek judicial intervention.