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•Says his case already awaiting judgment
Presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cannot exclude him from the 2027 presidential election, insisting that the commission has no final say in a candidacy dispute already awaiting judgment in court.
Hashim, who was excluded from the final list of presidential candidates published by INEC at the weekend, said an administrative action by the electoral body could not extinguish what he described as his lawfully acquired right to contest the election.
“I am the candidate of the Accord Party. No one can exclude me from the 2027 presidential election. The court will do justice,” he declared in a statement issued in Abuja, yesterday.
Hashim has already approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking, among other reliefs, an order compelling Accord to recognise him as its presidential candidate and transmit his name to INEC. The case has been heard and reserved for judgment.
He maintained that Nigeria’s constitutional democracy does not confer on INEC overriding powers of “finality” in disputes over the emergence or exclusion of candidates, arguing that such matters ultimately fall within the adjudicatory powers of the courts.
“Our democracy does not give INEC any right of finality over who stands as the candidate of a political party. Where there is a dispute over the emergence or exclusion of a candidate, the adjudicatory functions of the courts are provided precisely to prevent impunity and to ensure that no administrative process becomes a pre-planned mechanism for keeping particular candidates off the ballot.
“We have seen this before. In the last Osun governorship election, the courts intervened in circumstances where candidates initially excluded from INEC’s processes were subsequently restored to the ballot.
“That is why nobody should assume that an administrative publication by INEC is the final word in a matter that is before the courts,” he said.
Hashim’s case rests on his contention that he emerged as the sole winner of Accord’s presidential primary conducted on May 30, 2026, after paying the prescribed nomination fee, with the exercise monitored by INEC officials.
He insisted that his exclusion from the commission’s list could not conclusively determine the dispute.
“The publication by INEC is not the final determination of my candidacy. There is a subsisting legal dispute before the court, and I have confidence in the judicial process.
“I emerged from the presidential primary as the candidate. I have done what the law requires, and I believe the court will uphold the law.
“No individual or administrative action can take away a right that has been lawfully acquired. I remain the presidential candidate of Accord, and we will see this process through to its lawful conclusion.”
Hashim also alleged that powerful political interests were uncomfortable with his emergence because of his capacity to attract support across the country and challenge what he described as the politics of ethnicity, religion and division.
“We know for a fact that those who have benefited from the dysfunction in Nigeria, together with their enablers across various institutions, are scared stiff of one candidate being on that ballot — Gbenga Hashim.
“I am the candidate they cannot easily fit into their old calculations. I am the candidate capable of winning votes across North and South. I am prepared to fight over issues that matter to ordinary Nigerians and over the future of this country, rather than participate in the politics of division, ethnicity, religion and sentiment.
“They may be comfortable competing against wounded candidates. They may be comfortable with a political environment where Nigerians are forced to choose between factions and personalities. But they are uncomfortable with a candidate who can speak to Nigerians across the country on the basis of ideas, competence and national interest.
“But this plot, however sophisticated, shall fail by the grace of God,” he declared.
Hashim said the legal battle was not merely about his presidential ambition but raised fundamental questions about the integrity of party primaries, internal democracy and the right of Nigerians to choose among candidates.
“The real issue is whether a political party can conduct a presidential primary, produce a winner, and subsequently prevent that winner from participating in the election.
“If that can happen without judicial scrutiny, then, what happens to internal democracy within political parties? What happens to the rights of party members who participated in the primary? And ultimately, what happens to the right of Nigerians to choose who they want on the ballot?
“That is why this case matters beyond Gbenga Hashim. It is about whether the rules of our democracy apply to everyone, including those who occupy powerful institutions.”
Hashim urged his supporters and Nigerians sympathetic to his cause to remain calm, saying he would pursue the dispute strictly through constitutional and legal channels.
“I am not asking anyone to break the law. I am asking that the law be allowed to work.
“We will not be intimidated, we will not be distracted and we will not surrender a legitimate democratic right because somebody has published a list.
“The court will speak, and when it does, we will abide by the judgment,” he said.
