Accord Rejects Olawepo-Hashim as Presidential Candidate for 2027

The national leadership of Accord has rejected Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election. The party said it did not hold a presidential primary or select any candidate for the election.

The party’s National Chairman, Maxwell Mgbuden, made this clear in a statement released in Abuja.

This statement comes two days after Olawepo-Hashim’s media office announced he had been chosen after what they called affirmation primaries. They claimed many party members and supporters attended these primaries across different states.

But Mgbuden insisted that the event that produced him was not recognized by the national leadership. He described it as just a gathering of his supporters.

He said, “The supposed presidential primary where he emerged as the ‘presidential candidate of Accord,’ as reported widely in the media, was not conducted by our great party and has no effect whatsoever. It was a fanfare by his supporters, which should not be misunderstood as the party’s presidential primary. It was not.”

The chairman emphasized that there were no valid presidential aspirants according to the party’s approved guidelines and timetable sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

He pointed out that while many aspirants bought nomination forms for governorship, National Assembly, and state legislative positions, no one completed the process to run for president in the allowed time.

Accord explained that Olawepo-Hashim only showed interest in running for president through a letter dated May 26, 2026. This was after the deadline for submitting and screening aspirants had passed.

“As a result, the electoral body was informed about the cancellation of the party’s planned presidential primary,” the statement added.

Mgbuden also revealed that Olawepo-Hashim paid a total of N50 million after the nomination process had ended. This payment included N10 million for the expression of interest form and N40 million for the nomination form.

“It was after the party’s deadline for buying the expression of interest and nomination forms, as well as for screening any presidential aspirant, that Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim paid for the forms into the party’s bank account,” the statement said.

The party stated that it ordered its bankers to reverse the payments to the original account because they could not be processed under a nomination exercise that was already complete.

“To uphold Accord’s values of transparency, accountability, and due process, the party instructed its bankers to reverse the payments of N10,000,000 and N40,000,000 for the expression of interest and nomination forms back to the originating bank,” it stated.

Accord also dismissed Olawepo-Hashim’s claim that he should be the party’s candidate since no other aspirants sought the ticket. The party stressed that following its nomination procedures is necessary, no matter how many aspirants there are.

“The lack of other aspirants does not remove these necessary conditions nor give automatic rights to nomination,” Mgbuden said.

The leadership mentioned that it had formally informed Olawepo-Hashim in a letter dated May 31. The letter explained that his interest and subsequent petition could not be processed because they were submitted after the approved deadline.

“For now, Accord has no presidential candidate for the 2027 general election. However, the party has nominated candidates for governorship and legislative positions,” Mgbuden concluded.