Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim Sues Accord Party Over 2027 Presidential Ticket

A legal battle has erupted within the Accord Party after Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim filed a lawsuit in the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 9, 2026. Hashim is seeking a court order to compel the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize him as the party's presidential candidate for the 2027 general election. He claims he won the presidential primary on May 30, 2026, after paying a ₦50 million nomination fee and sponsoring a ₦7 million membership drive.

The lawsuit follows a public dispute between party leadership and a stakeholder group known as the Accord Alliance Movement (AAM). On July 8, the AAM urged the party to upload Hashim's details to the INEC portal by July 11, asserting that a nationwide primary had already produced him as the sole candidate. This contradicts statements from the Accord Party's National Chairman, Maxwell Mgbuden, who claimed the party conducted no official primaries and that no candidate met the nomination requirements.

Light Adah Adoko, Director-General of the AAM, denounced Mgbuden's claims as a "deliberate coup against justice" and an assault on democratic processes. During the AAM's news conference, the group also passed a vote of no confidence in President Bola Tinubu's administration and distanced the party from Governor Ademola Adeleke's endorsement of Tinubu. On July 9, the Federal High Court granted an adjournment requested by INEC and the Accord Party, scheduling the substantive hearing for July 14, 2026.