Legal Crisis Hits Accord Party As Lawsuit Seeks Total Ballot Disqualification For 2027 Elections
ABUJA — The Accord Party has been plunged into a major legal crisis following a lawsuit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the total disqualification of all its candidates from the 2027 general elections.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2524/2026 and filed on October 21, 2026, exposes a deep constitutional fracture within the party’s leadership.
The National Secretary, Hon. (Mrs.) Adebukola Ajaja, initiated the legal action against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Accord Party, the National Chairman (Maxwell Mgbudem), and the National Organising Secretary (ThankGod Kenechukwu).
At the heart of the dispute is the unilateral submission of candidate forms to INEC. According to the plaintiff, the National Chairman and Organising Secretary bypassed her office entirely, violating the Accord Party’s 2018 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2026, which mandate that all official candidate nominations must be jointly executed by both the Chairman and the Secretary.
Ajaja alleges her statutory duties were “usurped” during the submissions made between June and August 2026.
This legal battle threatens to derail the party’s entire 2027 campaign, including the high-profile presidential bid of Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, whose candidacy was only recently validated by the same court on October 5, 2026.
If the court rules in Ajaja’s favor, the Accord Party faces a total wipeout from the 2027 ballot papers. INEC and the party leadership are expected to file their responses as a trial date awaits scheduling.
