ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The national leadership of the Accord Party (APC), has disowned Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, insisting that it has not produced any candidate for the race and has refunded the N50 million he paid for expression of interest and nomination forms.
The party maintained that no valid presidential primary election was conducted and that Olawepo-Hashim did not emerge through any recognised nomination process approved by the party.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its National Chairman, Barrister Maxwell Mgbuden, Accord described reports portraying Olawepo-Hashim as its presidential flagbearer as false and misleading.
According to Mgbuden, the event being presented as a presidential primary was merely a gathering organised by supporters of the aspirant and had no official recognition from the party.
“The purported presidential primary where he emerged as the ‘presidential candidate of Accord’ as widely reported in the national media was not conducted by our great party and has no effect whatsoever,” Mgbuden stated.
“It was a fanfare by his supporters and should not be misconstrued as the party’s presidential primary. It was not.”
The party explained that its official presidential nomination timetable, which had earlier been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), did not produce any qualified presidential aspirant.
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While noting that several individuals successfully purchased nomination forms for governorship, National Assembly and state assembly positions, Accord said no aspirant completed the requirements for the presidential ticket within the approved timeframe.
According to the party, Olawepo-Hashim only formally expressed interest in contesting for the presidency through a letter dated May 26, 2026, long after the deadlines for the purchase of forms, screening and submission of applications had elapsed.
The statement revealed that the party responded to him on May 31, informing him that his request could not be processed because it fell outside the approved timetable.
“The party acknowledges receipt of your letter dated 26th May 2026 expressing your interest in contesting for the office of President however, it was received after the expiration of the approved timeline,” the statement said.
As a result, the party said it formally notified INEC of the cancellation of its planned presidential primary election.
Accord further disclosed that despite the cancellation, it later received payments of N10 million for an expression of interest form and N40 million for a nomination form.
“Following the expiration of the timeline, the party received bank alerts indicating payments of N10,000,000 and N40,000,000,” it stated.
The party said the funds were immediately reversed to the originating account because there was no valid nomination exercise in progress at the time the payments were made.
Accord also dismissed the argument that Olawepo-Hashim should automatically emerge as its candidate because no other aspirant was in the race.
Mgbuden stressed that compliance with party guidelines, deadlines and screening procedures remained mandatory for all aspirants regardless of the level of competition.
“The absence of other aspirants does not dispense with these mandatory conditions nor confer automatic entitlement to nomination,” he said.
The party maintained that the deadlines for purchasing forms, screening and submission of applications were binding and had expired before Olawepo-Hashim indicated interest in the contest.
It added that it could neither process his application nor recognise his claim to the presidential ticket.
Accord therefore reiterated that it currently has no presidential candidate for the 2027 election and emphasised that only its governorship, National Assembly and state assembly candidates remain validly nominated under the party’s electoral process.