2027: Court Orders INEC to Add Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim to Presidential Candidates List
The Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as the party’s presidential candidate for the...
The Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
In a judgement delivered on Monday, Federal High Court Justice Mohammed Garba Umar ordered the Accord Party to immediately submit Olawepo-Hashim’s name to INEC for upload to the commission’s nomination portal, in line with Section 86 of the Electoral Act 2026.
In his judgement, the judge agreed with the plaintiff, ruling that the party’s refusal to submit his name to INEC—despite his victory as the sole aspirant in the May 30 primary—constituted a serious violation of Section 86 of the Electoral Act.
Justice Umar also faulted the Accord Party for accepting ₦50 million for expression-of-interest and nomination forms but failing to declare Olawepo-Hashim the primary winner despite his being the sole aspirant. The court further found contradictions in several of the party’s claims that no primary election was held.
Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, on May 26, stated his intention to run for president under the Accord Party, and he was reportedly declared the winner of the poll as the sole aspirant, having polled 423,902 votes.
In the twisted plot, the National Chairman of the party, Maxwell Mgbudem, announced in contrast to Olawepo-Hashim’s victory, stating that the Accord Party did not hold a primary for the presidential position, asking the public to disregard the report of Olawepo-Hashim’s emergence. He further noted that the party’s presidential primary was cancelled because no aspirant purchased expression of interest and nomination forms for the office of president before the deadline.
Not satisfied with the party’s announcement, Olawepo-Hashim, through his counsel, Henry Akunebu, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1268/2026, approached the court to direct Accord Party to immediately upload his name to INEC’s nomination portal as its presidential candidate and compel the electoral body to recognise and accept the nomination.
In his originating summons, Olawepo-Hashim asked the court to determine whether Accord’s refusal to upload his name to INEC’s portal violated the Electoral Act 2026, the 1999 Constitution and INEC’s guidelines on candidate nomination.
He specifically relied on Section 86 of the Electoral Act and Clauses 28(1) and 28(2) of the INEC guidelines, seeking an order compelling Accord to submit his name to the electoral commission.
In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, Olawepo-Hashim described himself as a registered and financially active member of Accord. He claimed to have contributed ₦7 million towards the party’s electronic membership registration and paid a further ₦50 million as the nomination fee for the presidential primary.
He maintained that he was the sole aspirant at the May 30 exercise, which he said was monitored by INEC officials, and that he emerged as the winner. He subsequently accused the party of refusing to transmit his name to INEC.
The plaintiff’s lawyer went to argue that political parties are bound by the Electoral Act, their constitutions and INEC guidelines in the nomination of candidates, adding that a party that conducts a valid primary has a statutory duty to submit the winner’s name to INEC, appealing to the court to uphold the principles of internal party democracy by granting all the reliefs sought by his client.
On its part, the Accord Party, through its lawyer, T.W. Olusesi, asked the court to dismiss the suit, insisting that the presidential primary had been cancelled after no aspirant purchased nomination forms or presented themselves for the exercise, and as a result, INEC did not monitor the primary because it had already been cancelled.
In an agreement with the Accord Party, lawyer for INEC, D.J. Gusen, told the court that the commission did not monitor the exercise because it received a letter notifying it of the cancellation through one of its national commissioners, thereby urging the court to dismiss the suit.
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