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The leadership crisis rocking the Accord Party on Thursday got messier in Osun State, with two rival factions laying claim to authentic control of the party ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
While factional chairman Prof. Chris Imumolen stormed the mega rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osogbo with his supporters to officially declare support for the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, the state chairman of the party, Pastor Victor Akande, described Imumolen as an “impostor.”
Prior to the rally, Imumolen had urged Osun voters not to waste their ballots on Governor Ademola Adeleke, arguing that the incumbent’s political future faced imminent defeat due to public dissatisfaction and internal party disputes.
But, in a press statement, Akande maintained that Governor Adeleke remains the party’s sole and official candidate for the weekend polls, saying, “Members of the Accord Party in Osun State and the public at large were highly embarrassed by the fraudulent charade involving top opposition leaders.
“We urge the general public to disregard and dismiss the endorsement, as Governor Ademola Adeleke remains the official candidate of the Accord Party for the Saturday polls,” Akande said.
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Accusing the APC of desperate and fraudulent tactics, Akande alleged that the ruling party engineered the impersonation because it recognised its own deep unpopularity in the state.
He maintained that Barrister Maxwell Mgbudem remains the genuinely recognised National Chairman of the Accord Party, duly listed and acknowledged by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“The public should take note that the Accord Party and its National Working Committee still recognise Senator Ademola Adeleke as its only candidate for the Osun governorship election.
“It is therefore shameful that the APC could go the route of impersonating the national chairman of another party at their mega rally in Osogbo, which was beamed live on national television,” Akande added.
Akande called on democrats nationwide and the electorate in Osun not to be swayed by what he described as political gimmicks, insisting that Adeleke remains “the man of the people.”
