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The Accord Party has been thrown into an internal crisis over its alleged endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election, with its national chairman and former presidential candidate, Prof. Christopher Imumolen, announcing support for the President while the Lagos State chairman, Dele Oladeji, rejected the claim.
While Imumolen said the party had decided to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and back Tinubu’s re-election bid, Oladeji insisted that no organ of the party had approved such a decision.
Imumolen announced the decision at a press conference, saying it followed a careful assessment of the performance and policies of the Tinubu administration and consultations within the party.
He said Accord found areas of alignment between its vision and the policies of the administration, adding that the decision was based on national interest rather than personal political ambition.
“My aspiration has always been to serve Nigeria and not merely to occupy public office. Whenever the national interest is better served through unity and strategic collaboration, I will always choose Nigeria above personal political ambition,” he said.
According to Imumolen, the party had developed a scorecard for assessing political office holders and decided to support those whose performance and policies met its expectations.
“In our party, what we have done is to identify political office holders who are doing well. We have our scorecard, and we look at our candidates and what they are doing. When we juxtapose together, not as an anti-party, we pay a visit and throw our support.”
He listed Tinubu’s reform agenda, leadership capacity, political experience, economic recovery efforts, inclusive leadership, stability, continuity and policy consistency among the factors behind the decision.
Imumolen stressed that the decision did not amount to the collapse of Accord or its political structures.
He said while the party would not field a presidential candidate in 2027 and would support Tinubu at the presidential level, its candidates for governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections would continue to contest under the Accord platform.
“This is a general decision of the party to support President Tinubu come 2027. Our state and local government contestants will still contest under the Accord Party,” he said.
However, Oladeji, who is also Secretary of the Forum of Accord Party Chairmen in Southern Nigeria, dismissed the claim, describing it as false and contrary to the party’s position.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Oladeji said no National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting had discussed or approved an endorsement of Tinubu.
“Accord did not and will not endorse Tinubu for a second term. Any person claiming otherwise is playing politics or engaging in anti-party activities.”
He said the party had not discussed supporting Tinubu at any NEC meeting since preparations for the 2027 elections began.
“Accord has not at any time discussed any endorsement of President Tinubu at any of our NEC meetings. So, there is no basis whatsoever for anybody to claim that Accord has endorsed President Tinubu,” Oladeji said.
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The Lagos chairman described Imumolen’s announcement as a personal position and questioned his status within the party.
Oladeji alleged that Imumolen’s name was not on the party’s current membership register, saying the register on which he was listed had been replaced by a new one introduced in 2023 by the party’s national leadership.
“His name is not on the Accord membership register, as the register he was on had been phased out,” he said.
He challenged Imumolen to provide evidence of his current membership and participation in recognised party structures and meetings.
Oladeji also insisted that Accord would contest the 2027 elections at all levels, including the presidential election.
“Accord candidates will contest every elective position in the country, including the presidential election.”
He argued that endorsing another party’s presidential candidate would be inconsistent with Accord’s political identity and objectives.
“Only an unserious person and political party will endorse the candidate of another party. Accord will not do such,” he said.
Oladeji urged members and supporters of the party to disregard reports that Accord had entered into an agreement to support Tinubu’s re-election, insisting that the party’s official position could only be determined through its constitutional organs and recognised meetings.
Meanwhile, Imumolen has maintained that the decision to support Tinubu was a general decision of Accord and not a personal initiative.
He said political parties could collaborate on issues of national importance without losing their identities or structures.
“We have a multi-party system, and this is not the first time parties are collaborating, working together, having coalitions with other parties,” he said.
He added that the decision was intended to put the national interest ahead of party and personal ambitions.
Imumolen also rejected suggestions that the decision was driven by a lack of structure to contest the presidential election, arguing that the popularity and capacity of a candidate could significantly influence a party’s electoral fortunes.
He said Accord would retain its national, state and local government structures while mobilising support for Tinubu at the presidential level and fielding its own candidates in other elections.
The conflicting positions have left the party’s 2027 presidential strategy unclear, with Imumolen insisting that Accord has withdrawn from the presidential race and Oladeji maintaining that the party will field a presidential candidate.
