Former presidential candidate Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has thrown down the gauntlet following his omission from the initial preliminary list of presidential candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Reacting to the development from Abuja, Olawepo-Hashim maintained that administrative lists do not carry the power of finality in a constitutional democracy, pointing squarely to a subsisting legal suit already heard and reserved for judgment at the Federal High Court. His legal team is asking the court to compel the Accord Party leadership to upload and transmit his name, citing his emergence as the sole consensus winner of the party’s May 30, 2026 presidential primary—an exercise he insists was duly monitored by electoral officials [cite: 1.1.3].
“I am the candidate of the Accord Party. No one can exclude me from the 2027 presidential election. The court will do justice,” Olawepo-Hashim declared in his firm pushback against party internal friction and administrative snags [cite: 1.1.3].
Bending no words, he accused political rivals of sweating over his potential inclusion out of fear of a cross-regional campaign that disrupts traditional zoning and ethnic calculations. Urging his nationwide support base to stay calm and trust the legal process, Olawepo-Hashim framed the standoff as a crucial test for internal party democracy and the sanctity of the ballot box ahead of 2027 [cite: 1.1.3].
