The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, in a judgment delivered on Monday, ordered Accord to immediately submit Olawepo-Hashim’s name to INEC, while directing the electoral commission to accept and recognise the nomination.
The court specifically declared that the party’s refusal to submit Olawepo-Hashim’s name after he emerged from its May 30 presidential primary violated **Section 86 of the Electoral Act 2026**.
Justice Umar also held that the evidence before the court established that Olawepo-Hashim participated in the party’s presidential nomination process, despite Accord’s claim that no primary was conducted.
The court further rejected the party’s position on the disputed primary, finding that its claims were contradictory and inconsistent with the evidence presented before it.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Olawepo-Hashim challenging Accord’s failure to forward his name to INEC after he emerged as the **sole aspirant and winner** of the May 30 presidential primary.
In another significant finding, the court relied on evidence that Accord accepted N50m from Olawepo-Hashim for expression of interest and nomination forms, undermining the party’s position that the disputed primary did not take place.
Olawepo-Hashim’s counsel, Henry Akunebu, SAN, had argued that once a political party conducts a valid primary and a candidate emerges, the party has a statutory obligation to submit the winner’s name to INEC in accordance with the Electoral Act and the commission’s guidelines.
The lawyer also challenged the authenticity of a document allegedly cancelling the presidential primary, arguing that it lacked the party’s official stamp and was addressed to the INEC Chairman but received by an unnamed national commissioner.
In his suit, Olawepo-Hashim had asked the court to declare that Accord’s refusal to upload his name to INEC’s nomination portal breached **Section 86 of the Electoral Act 2026, the Constitution and the relevant INEC guidelines on candidate nomination**.
He also sought an order compelling the party to submit his name to INEC or, alternatively, conduct a fresh presidential primary.
The plaintiff told the court that he was a registered and financially active member of Accord and had contributed N7m towards the party’s electronic membership registration, in addition to the N50m paid for the presidential nomination process.
With its declarations and consequential orders, the court has directed Accord to recognise the outcome of the May 30 primary and forward Olawepo-Hashim’s name to INEC for the 2027 presidential election.
