The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as the presidential candidate of the Accord Party for the 2027 general election.
The judgment followed a suit instituted by Hashim against the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking legal recognition of his emergence from the party’s presidential primary.
Hashim had approached the court after Accord failed to submit his name to INEC, despite his claim that he emerged as the party’s presidential candidate at a primary election held on May 30, 2026.
In the suit, he asked the court to determine whether the party’s failure to forward his name to INEC contravened the Electoral Act 2026, the 1999 Constitution and relevant INEC regulations governing the nomination of candidates.
He also sought an order compelling Accord to recognise him and transmit his name to INEC as its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Alternatively, Hashim asked the court to direct the party to conduct a fresh presidential primary in which he would be allowed to participate.
The plaintiff told the court that he was a registered and financial member of Accord and had paid the required ₦50 million nomination fee to contest the presidential primary.
He maintained that he emerged as the sole aspirant and winner of the exercise on May 30, but alleged that the party subsequently refused to submit his name to the electoral commission.
The case was adjourned several times during the proceedings. On July 15, the court further adjourned the matter after Accord and INEC served fresh processes on Hashim’s legal team shortly before the scheduled hearing.
His lawyers subsequently sought time to study and respond to the new filings, prompting the court to fix another date for further proceedings.
The legal dispute followed the public rejection of Hashim’s candidacy by the national leadership of Accord.
In a statement issued on June 3, the party’s National Chairman, Maxwell Mgbudem, said Accord did not conduct any presidential primary and described the exercise that produced Hashim as a candidate as a process organised by his supporters.
The party explained that its planned presidential primary was cancelled because no aspirant purchased the required expression-of-interest and nomination forms within the stipulated period.
Accord further alleged that Hashim’s payments for the forms were made after the deadline and said it had instructed its bank to reverse the payments.
Hashim, however, rejected the party’s position and maintained that he was the legitimate presidential candidate of Accord, leading to the legal action that culminated in the court’s latest ruling.
