Court Affirms Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as Accord Party’s Presidential Candidate for 2027

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, ordering the party to submit his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, in a judgment delivered on Monday, directed Accord Party to recognise Olawepo-Hashim as its presidential candidate and forward his name to INEC for upload on the commission’s nomination portal.

The judgment followed a legal dispute over the party’s presidential nomination process and a primary election said to have been conducted on May 30, 2026.

Olawepo-Hashim had approached the court after Accord Party declined to recognise him as its presidential candidate or submit his name to INEC. He argued that he emerged as the sole aspirant and winner of the May 30 primary and that the party’s refusal to forward his name violated the Electoral Act 2026, the Constitution and applicable INEC guidelines.

Accord Party had disputed his claim, maintaining that it did not conduct the purported presidential primary. In a June statement, the party said its scheduled presidential primary had been cancelled because it had no eligible presidential aspirant within its approved timetable and guidelines. It also said Olawepo-Hashim's payment for the nomination process was made after the relevant deadline.

However, Justice Umar rejected the party's position, holding that the evidence before the court supported the existence of the primary and Olawepo-Hashim's emergence from the process.

The court also held that Accord Party had violated Section 86 of the Electoral Act 2026 by failing to submit Olawepo-Hashim's name to INEC after his emergence from the primary.

The judge noted that the party had accepted ₦50 million from Olawepo-Hashim for expression of interest and nomination forms, among other evidence considered by the court.

The court consequently ordered Accord Party to recognise Olawepo-Hashim as its presidential candidate and submit his name to INEC. It also directed INEC to accept and recognise the nomination upon submission.

The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1268/2026, was filed by Olawepo-Hashim against Accord Party and INEC. His counsel, Henry Akunebu, SAN, had asked the court to compel the party to submit his name to the electoral commission.

The judgment settles the immediate dispute before the Federal High Court over recognition of Olawepo-Hashim as Accord Party's presidential candidate, although any further legal steps by the parties remain to be seen.