The national leadership of the Accord Party has dismissed reports claiming that businessman and politician Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim emerged as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, the National Chairman of the party, Maxwell Mgbuden, clarified that the Accord Party did not conduct any presidential primary election and therefore has no recognised presidential candidate at the moment.

The reaction followed reports circulated earlier in the week by Olawepo-Hashim’s media office announcing his emergence through what was described as “affirmation primaries” allegedly attended by party supporters and members across several states.

However, the Accord leadership insisted that the event had no official backing from the party and should not be mistaken for a legitimate presidential primary.

According to Mgbuden, the gathering was merely an event organised by supporters of Olawepo-Hashim and carried no constitutional or electoral validity within the party structure.

He stated, “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.”

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The party chairman explained that Accord had already concluded all processes relating to its nomination timetable in line with guidelines submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He noted that while aspirants successfully purchased nomination forms for governorship, National Assembly, and state legislative positions, no aspirant fulfilled the required conditions to contest for the presidency within the approved deadline.

Mgbuden disclosed that Olawepo-Hashim only formally expressed interest in the presidential race through a letter dated May 26, 2026, after the party’s deadline for screening and nomination submissions had already elapsed.

According to the statement, the Accord Party subsequently informed INEC that its scheduled presidential primary had been cancelled due to the absence of qualified aspirants within the stipulated timeframe.

The party further revealed that it received payments amounting to ₦50 million from Olawepo-Hashim after the nomination window had officially closed.

The payment reportedly included ₦10 million for the expression of interest form and ₦40 million for the nomination form.

Mgbuden explained that because the payment came after the completion of the nomination process, the party instructed its bankers to refund the money to the originating account.

He said the decision was taken in line with the party’s principles of transparency, accountability, and due process.

The Accord leadership also rejected suggestions that Olawepo-Hashim should automatically emerge as the party’s candidate simply because there were no other presidential aspirants.

According to the party, compliance with nomination procedures remains mandatory regardless of the number of contestants.

“The absence of other aspirants would not dispense with these mandatory conditions nor confer automatic entitlement to nomination,” Mgbuden stated.

The party added that it formally communicated its position to Olawepo-Hashim in a letter dated May 31, explaining why his application and related petition could not be processed.

Accord maintained that, as of now, it does not have a presidential candidate for the 2027 election, although it has successfully nominated candidates for governorship and legislative positions across the country.

The development adds another layer of uncertainty to the political realignments already shaping up ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.