The Accord Party has dismissed claims that Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has emerged as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, insisting that no primary was conducted and confirming plans to refund N50 million paid for nomination forms.
National Chairman of the party, Maxwell Mgbuden, said in a statement on Wednesday that the reported affirmation process linked to Olawepo-Hashim had no official backing and did not reflect any recognised activity of the party.
“The purported presidential primary in which he emerged as Accord’s presidential candidate was not conducted by our party and has no legal or political effect whatsoever,” Mgbuden stated.
He added that what was presented publicly as a primary was nothing more than a gathering organised outside the party’s structures.
“It was merely a fanfare organised by his supporters and should not be mistaken for the party’s official presidential primary,” he said.
The clarification comes after Olawepo-Hashim’s media team announced that he had secured the Accord presidential ticket through an affirmation exercise reportedly held across several states.
However, the party maintained that no aspirant had successfully completed its screening process within the timetable submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Mgbuden explained that while the party processed candidates for other levels of elections, the presidential slot remained vacant due to missed deadlines and incomplete procedures.
According to him, Olawepo-Hashim only formally indicated interest in the ticket on May 26, 2026, after the close of the party’s official nomination window.
The party chairman further disclosed that the aspirant paid N50 million into the party’s account after the process had already ended, breaking it down into N10 million for expression of interest and N40 million for nomination forms.
“It was after the expiration of the party’s approved timeline for the purchase of forms and screening of aspirants that Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim made the payments,” Mgbuden said.
He added that the party had taken steps to reverse the transaction.
“In line with our commitment to transparency, accountability and due process, the party instructed its bankers to reverse the N10 million expression of interest fee and the N40 million nomination fee to the originating account,” he stated.
Mgbuden also rejected claims that Olawepo-Hashim should be automatically regarded as the party’s candidate due to a lack of competitors.
“The absence of other contestants does not invalidate the party’s rules or confer automatic entitlement to nomination,” he said.
He stressed that internal guidelines remained binding regardless of circumstances.
In a formal communication dated May 31, the party informed Olawepo-Hashim that his application could not be considered because it was submitted outside the approved timeline.
Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, had earlier been linked to the Accord Party’s presidential bid before the latest clarification.
The Accord Party reaffirmed that it currently has no presidential candidate for the 2027 elections, though it has completed nominations for governorship, National Assembly, and state assembly positions.
