Court tells INEC to accept Olawepo-Hashim as Accord Party's presidential candidate

The Federal High Court in Abuja confirmed Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as the Accord Party's presidential candidate for the 2027 election on Monday.

Judge Mohammed Umar made the ruling. He said the party's claim was not true. There was proof that Mr Olawepo-Hashim was the only candidate after a primary election held on 30 May.

The judge then instructed the Accord Party to recognize Mr Olawepo-Hashim as the only presidential candidate. The party must send his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for it to be uploaded on their portal as required.

He stated that it was wrong for the party to ignore the plaintiff as its presidential candidate. The party had collected N50 million from him for nomination and expression of interest forms.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Mr Olawepo-Hashim took legal action against the Accord Party and INEC. The case was marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1268/2026 and filed by his lawyer, Henry Akunaebu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

In his suit, Mr Olawepo-Hashim asked the court to order his party to send his name to the electoral body as a valid candidate for the upcoming presidential election, among other requests.