The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun State has said it is not aware of any additional governorship primary conducted by the Accord Party in the state.
This followed reports that a faction of the Accord Party held a parallel primary election in Osogbo on Sunday, which allegedly produced Bamigbola Clement as its candidate for the August 8, 2026 governorship election. The exercise reportedly involved the accreditation of delegates and was conducted amid heavy security presence.
The reported primary came days after the Accord Party conducted an earlier governorship primary last Wednesday, which produced Governor Ademola Adeleke as the party’s candidate for the 2026 election.
Reacting to the development, INEC’s Public Relations Officer in Osun State, Musa Olurode, said the commission only monitored one Accord Party primary and had already submitted its report. He stated that INEC had no knowledge of any other primary election conducted by the party.
At the earlier primary, Adeleke emerged unopposed after polling 145 votes, with delegates drawn from across the 30 local government areas of the state participating in the exercise.
Meanwhile, the caretaker Chairman of the Accord Party in Osun State, Babalola Akande, dismissed the Sunday primary, describing it as the handiwork of unknown individuals who are not recognised by the party. He insisted that Adeleke remains the duly nominated and lawful governorship candidate of the Accord Party in the state.
Akande said the nomination of Adeleke followed due process in line with the party’s constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and established judicial precedents, adding that the party would take legal steps to challenge any attempt to recognise parallel structures or impersonators.
He urged members of the public to disregard the reported primary, stressing that no parallel exercise can alter the legal outcome of the valid primary conducted on December 10, 2025, which produced Adeleke as the party’s sole governorship candidate for the 2026 election.
The senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has disclosed that she is facing pressure from individuals allegedly linked to the Presidency to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), but has firmly ruled out leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Speaking during a recent interview, the senator said she is comfortable in the PDP and values the peace and stability she currently enjoys within the party. She stressed that defecting […]
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