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• Sowore visits as Hashim urges reconciliation
The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as the Accord Party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election and ordered the party to upload his name on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination portal.
Justice Mohammed Umar, delivering judgment on Monday, dismissed the preliminary objections to Hashim’s suit and rejected a purported letter notifying INEC of the cancellation of the party’s May 30, 2026 presidential primary.
Following the judgment, African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, paid Hashim a congratulatory visit, while the Accord candidate called on party members and stakeholders to reconcile and unite ahead of the elections.
Hashim, who dedicated the victory to God, thanked the judiciary, his legal team and party members, saying the judgment should provide an opportunity to bring stakeholders together.
“I give God the glory for this victory. I dedicate the victory also to all stakeholders and our dear party members and my hardworking legal team. We are grateful to the judiciary that has done justice on this matter,” he said.
“We won’t leave anybody behind. We should all come together and work for the party’s victory.”
He added: “The march to a New Nigeria has started.”
Sowore congratulated Hashim on the judgment and the resolution of the dispute over his emergence as Accord’s standard-bearer. The visit brought together the two presidential candidates, both of whom have backgrounds in Nigeria’s pro-democracy movement and political activism.
Hashim had approached the court after Accord failed to submit his name to INEC, maintaining that he was the sole aspirant and winner of the party’s May 30 presidential primary.
His counsel, Henry Akunebu, urged the court to recognise his nomination and compel the party to forward his name to the electoral commission.
Akunebu challenged the validity and evidential value of the documents relied upon to dispute Hashim’s emergence, particularly the purported letter communicating the cancellation of the primary to INEC.
He argued that the letter lacked the party’s official stamp and imprimatur, while questioning the circumstances surrounding its receipt by the commission.
Accord’s counsel, T.W. Olusesi, maintained that the presidential primary had been cancelled and that no valid exercise produced Hashim as the party’s candidate.
INEC’s counsel, D.J. Gusen, also argued that the commission did not monitor the primary because it had received notification that the exercise had been cancelled.
Justice Umar, however, rejected the purported cancellation letter and affirmed Hashim’s emergence from the May 30 primary, directing Accord to upload his name as its presidential candidate.
In his originating summons, Hashim had asked the court to determine whether the party could validly refuse to upload his name to INEC’s nomination portal after a primary in which he emerged as the winner.
He contended that the refusal violated the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026 and relevant INEC regulations and guidelines governing the nomination of candidates.
In the alternative, he sought an order directing Accord to conduct a fresh presidential primary in which he would be allowed to participate.
Hashim maintained that he was a registered and financially compliant party member who had paid the prescribed ₦50 million presidential nomination fee and contributed ₦7 million towards Accord’s electronic membership registration programme.
He also maintained that INEC officials monitored the primary, a claim disputed by the commission’s counsel.
Following the judgment, Hashim urged party stakeholders to build a stronger electoral organisation, saying Accord could compete in the presidential, governorship and National Assembly elections.
He argued that economic hardship and insecurity would shape the 2027 contest, rather than assumptions based on previous election results.
