Hashim Name to INEC: Accord Party chieftain Light Adoko urges party leaders to submit Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim’s candidacy for 2027
Accord Party chieftain and public affairs analyst, Light Adoko, has urged the party’s National Working Committee to submit the name of Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
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Adoko made the call in a statement issued on Wednesday amid an internal dispute over Olawepo-Hashim’s status as the party’s presidential candidate.
The controversy began after one of the party’s national chairmen, Maxwell Mgbuden, rejected Olawepo-Hashim’s reported emergence as the Accord Party’s presidential flagbearer. Olawepo-Hashim, however, dismissed the position, insisting on his candidacy.
The disagreement has fuelled uncertainty over the party’s preparations for the 2027 presidential election.
Reacting to the development, Adoko urged the party leadership to act without delay by forwarding Olawepo-Hashim’s name to INEC.
He also alleged that attempts to block the candidacy were part of a broader political agenda aimed at preventing the Accord Party from fielding a presidential candidate.
“A fearful establishment is trying to weaponise party machinery to deny our sole presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, Dr Gbenga Hashim, the presidential ticket he deserves and rightfully should be his,” Adoko said.
He argued that political parties belong to their members and should not be controlled by a few individuals.
“A political party is not a private business. It is not a family property managed by a privileged few. A political party is a public trust. It is driven by the hopes, hard work and financial contributions of millions of ordinary citizens,” he said.
Adoko further claimed that those opposing Olawepo-Hashim’s candidacy were undermining internal democracy within the party.
According to him, the Accord Party should immediately submit Olawepo-Hashim’s name to INEC to avoid entering the 2027 elections without a presidential candidate.
The dispute is the latest sign of internal tensions within opposition parties as political groups continue to reposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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Neither the Accord Party leadership nor INEC had responded publicly to Adoko’s latest appeal at the time of filing this report.
