A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise and upload Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Justice Mohammed Garba Umar delivered the judgment in a suit filed by Olawepo-Hashim against the party and INEC.
The court held that the Accord Party’s refusal to submit his name after he emerged as the sole winner of its presidential primary on May 30, 2026, violated Section 86 of the Electoral Act 2026.
The judge directed the party to forward Olawepo-Hashim’s name to INEC for upload on its nomination portal and ordered the electoral body to accept the submission.
Justice Umar rejected the party’s claims that no primary was conducted or that it had been cancelled, noting evidence that the party accepted N50 million from him for expression of interest and nomination forms. He described the party’s contradictory positions on the disputed primary as unbelievable.
Olawepo-Hashim, through his counsel Henry Akunebu (SAN), had sought a declaration that the party’s failure to upload his name breached the Electoral Act, the Constitution, and INEC guidelines.
He also asked the court, in the alternative, to order a fresh primary. In supporting documents, he stated that he is a registered financial member who funded the party’s electronic membership drive with N7 million and emerged as the sole aspirant in a primary he said was monitored by INEC officials.
The ruling ends a months-long legal dispute over the Accord Party’s 2027 presidential ticket.