The Federal High Court, Abuja, has fixed July 14, 2026, for the substantive hearing of a suit filed by an Accord Party chieftain, Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, seeking an order compelling the party to recognise him as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election and forward his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Hashim, who named Accord Party and INEC as first and second defendants in an Originating Summons, is asking the court to determine whether the party’s failure to upload his name to INEC’s nomination portal — despite emerging as sole winner of the party’s presidential primary on May 30, 2026 — violates the Electoral Act 2026, the Constitution, and INEC’s guidelines for political parties.
He is seeking a declaration that the party’s refusal to forward his name breaches Section 86 of the Electoral Act 2026 and Clauses 28(1) and (2) of the electoral guidelines on candidate nomination, and wants the court to order Accord Party to upload and submit his name to INEC.
In the alternative, he is asking the court to direct the party to conduct a fresh presidential primary in which he would participate, should the court decline to order submission of his name.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Hashim described himself as a registered and financial member of Accord Party, and stated that he sponsored the party’s electronic membership drive with a payment of ₦7 million.
He said he also paid the prescribed ₦50 million nomination fee to contest the presidential primary, emerging
