Accord Crisis Deepens in Oyo As Faction Disowns Oriyomi Hamzat & Other Guber Candidate
Reloaded News Desk
The crisis within the Accord Party in Oyo State has deepened, with the faction led by Prof. Chris Imumolen declaring that the party currently has no legitimate governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
The faction rejected the candidacies of Dr Oriyomi Hamzat and Hon. Olakunle Busari, popularly known as Gudugudu, saying both emerged from parallel processes that it does not recognise.
The party’s National Secretary under the Imumolen-led faction, Abdullahi Muktar, made the position known in a statement on Sunday.
Muktar said the faction had rejected and nullified the processes that produced the two names and called for a fresh governorship primary conducted in accordance with what it described as the party’s lawful leadership structure.
He also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to review its records concerning Accord’s governorship nomination in Oyo State.
The dispute is not new.
Parallel governorship primaries were held in Oyo in May, producing competing claims over the party’s 2027 ticket.
One process produced Hamzat, while another returned Busari as the party’s candidate.
The disagreement subsequently moved into the courts.
A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan is handling a suit arising from the dispute, with Busari asking the court to direct INEC to remove Hamzat’s name from its records and recognise him as the authentic Accord governorship candidate.
The case was adjourned to September 30, 2026, after conflicting lawyers appeared for the party, creating a dispute over who had authority to represent Accord in the proceedings.
The legal representation issue has added another layer to the party’s leadership dispute.
Accord officials aligned with different sides have made competing claims about which leadership structure has authority to appoint counsel and speak for the party.
Muktar, speaking for the Imumolen faction, said the Federal High Court would ultimately determine the legitimate leadership of the party and that institutions including INEC would be bound by the court’s eventual decision.
“We remain confident that, once the court settles the matter, all relevant institutions, including INEC, will be required to comply with the binding decision of the court,” he said.
The latest position means that, for now, there are competing claims over both who controls Accord in Oyo State and who has the authority to nominate its governorship candidate.
The September 30 court proceedings could therefore become an important stage in determining how the dispute proceeds, although the court’s eventual ruling not statements from any faction will establish the legal position.
Until then, the competing camps remain locked in a dispute over the party’s leadership structure and its 2027 governorship ticket.
