2027: Accord Party Disowns Olawepo-Hashim’s Candidacy, Refunds N50m Nomination Fee

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The national leadership of Accord has disowned Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, insisting that the party neither conducted a presidential primary nor produced any candidate for the race.

The party’s National Chairman, Maxwell Mgbuden, made the clarification in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday. The rebuttal comes after Olawepo-Hashim’s media office announced his emergence through an alleged affirmation primary that reportedly witnessed a massive turnout of party members.

Mgbuden insisted that the purported exercise that produced him was not recognised by the national leadership and amounted to nothing more than a gathering organised by his supporters.

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

The party chairman maintained that it did not have any valid presidential aspirant within the timeframe stipulated in its approved guidelines submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He noted that while several aspirants purchased nomination forms for governorship, National Assembly and state legislative positions, no individual completed the process required to contest for the presidency within the approved timeline.

Accord disclosed that Olawepo-Hashim only formally indicated interest in contesting for the presidency through a letter dated May 26, 2026, after the deadline for the submission and screening of aspirants had elapsed. The party said INEC was duly notified of the cancellation of its scheduled presidential primary.

Mgbuden also revealed that the party received payments totalling N50 million from Olawepo-Hashim after the expiration of the nomination process. The payment included N10 million for the expression of interest form and N40 million for the nomination form.

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

The party subsequently instructed its bankers to reverse the payments to the originating account because they could not be processed under a nomination exercise that had already been concluded.

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

Sources: Punch, The Reflector