Court Shifts Accord Party Presidential Ticket Case After INEC Steps In

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday postponed the hearing of a suit filed by Accord Party member, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, over the party’s 2027 presidential ticket.

Justice Mohammed Umar fixed July 15, 2026, for the substantive hearing after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) joined the case and filed fresh court documents shortly before proceedings began.

The matter was delayed after Olawepo-Hashim’s lawyer, Henry Akunebu (SAN), informed the court that both Accord Party and INEC had only just served new documents on his legal team. He requested more time to study the filings and prepare a response before the hearing could continue. The court accepted the request and adjourned the case until Wednesday.

The court premises attracted a large number of Accord Party members and supporters who gathered to show support for Olawepo-Hashim. Many of them remained at the venue throughout the proceedings after welcoming him on arrival.

Olawepo-Hashim is asking the court to direct Accord Party to recognise him as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election and submit his name to INEC through the commission’s nomination portal. He named Accord Party and INEC as defendants in the case.

According to the suit, he wants the court to determine whether the party acted against the Electoral Act 2026, the Constitution and INEC’s guidelines by refusing to submit his name despite emerging as the sole winner of the party’s presidential primary held on May 30.

He also wants the court to declare that the party failed to comply with Section 86 of the Electoral Act 2026 and Clauses 28(1) and 28(2) of INEC’s guidelines governing the nomination of candidates. He is seeking an order directing the party to upload and forward his name to the electoral commission.

As an alternative request, Olawepo-Hashim asked the court to order the party to conduct another presidential primary if it decides not to submit his name as its candidate.

In documents filed before the court, Olawepo-Hashim described himself as a registered and financially active member of Accord Party. He stated that he funded the party’s electronic membership registration exercise with ₦7 million and also paid the required ₦50 million nomination fee to contest the presidential primary.

He maintained that he was the only aspirant in the race and emerged as the winner during the primary, which he said was monitored by INEC officials in line with the Electoral Act. Despite this, he alleged that the party failed to forward his name to INEC.

He further claimed that the party did not provide aspirants with the guidelines required for the conduct of the primary as stipulated by INEC regulations. However, he said he participated in the exercise based on assurances from the party’s national leadership.

His lawyer argued that political parties are expected to follow the Electoral Act, their constitutions and INEC’s guidelines when selecting candidates for elections. He told the court that once a valid primary has been conducted, the party has a legal duty to submit the name of the winner to INEC.

The legal team urged the court to grant all the reliefs sought, insisting that the case concerns compliance with the law and the protection of internal democracy within political parties.