Court Reserves Judgment in Olawepo-Hashim’s Accord Party Presidential Ticket Suit

Accord Party Presidential Ticket Suit
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday reserved judgment in the suit filed by Accord Party chieftain, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, who is asking the court to compel the party to recognise him as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election and submit his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Justice Mohammed Umar fixed judgment for a later date after lawyers representing all parties adopted their final written addresses.

Olawepo-Hashim, through his lawyer, Henry Akunebu (SAN), urged the court to direct the Accord Party to immediately upload his name to INEC’s nomination portal and order the electoral commission to accept and recognise his nomination.

He argued that the party’s refusal to forward his name was unlawful and asked the court to enforce what he described as his valid emergence as the party’s presidential candidate.

The plaintiff’s lawyer also challenged several documents presented by the Accord Party and INEC during the hearing. He questioned the authenticity of a letter said to have cancelled the party’s presidential primary, arguing that it did not carry the party’s official stamp and was received by an unnamed national commissioner despite being addressed to the INEC Chairman.

He asked the court to reject the documents, claiming they were created during the legal proceedings.

Akunebu also criticised the membership register presented by the party, arguing that the computer-generated document did not meet legal requirements because it lacked a certificate of compliance. He maintained that the presidential primary was never cancelled and insisted that the party was under a legal obligation to submit the name of the winner to INEC.

Counsel for the Accord Party, T.W. Olusesi, asked the court to dismiss the suit. He argued that the presidential primary was properly cancelled because no aspirant completed the necessary nomination process or appeared for the exercise.

According to him, INEC did not monitor the primary because the commission had already been informed that it had been cancelled.

INEC’s lawyer, D.J. Gusen, supported the position of the Accord Party. He told the court that the commission did not monitor the exercise after receiving official notice of the cancellation through one of its national commissioners. He also asked the court to dismiss the case.

In the suit, Olawepo-Hashim asked the court to determine whether the party’s refusal to upload his name to INEC’s nomination portal after he allegedly emerged as the sole winner of the May 30 presidential primary violated the Electoral Act 2026, the Constitution and INEC’s guidelines for political parties. He also sought a declaration that the party breached the law by failing to submit his name and requested an order directing the party to do so.

As an alternative, the plaintiff asked the court to direct the Accord Party to conduct a fresh presidential primary in which he would be allowed to participate.

In an affidavit before the court, Olawepo-Hashim stated that he is a registered and financially up-to-date member of the party.

He claimed to have spent N7 million to support the party’s electronic membership registration and paid N50 million as the nomination fee for the presidential primary. He also maintained that he was the only aspirant and emerged as the winner of the exercise, which he said was monitored by INEC officials.

His legal team argued that political parties are bound by the Electoral Act, their constitutions and INEC regulations when nominating candidates, insisting that once a valid primary is conducted, the party must forward the winner’s name to the electoral commission.

The plaintiff therefore urged the court to uphold internal party democracy by granting all the reliefs sought.