INEC disowns factional Accord Party gov primary in Osun

Accord Party faction holds a governorship primary election in Osun on December 14. Credit: Vanguard

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The Independent National Electoral Commission in Osun State has said it was not informed of another primary reportedly conducted by a faction of the Accord Party in the state.

A faction of the Accord Party in Osun on Sunday reportedly held a primary election that produced Bamigbola Clement as its candidate for the August 8, 2026, governorship poll.

The exercise, held in Osogbo, the state capital, began with the accreditation of delegates.

A large contingent of armed police operatives was also observed around the venue.

Bamigbola, the only aspirant presented to delegates, confirmed his emergence.

“It is true. We had our primary, and I emerged the consensus candidate,” he told The PUNCH.

However, INEC’s Public Relations Officer in the state, Musa Olurode, said the commission was unaware of the parallel exercise.

“We have monitored the only Accord Party primary a few days ago. The report has been submitted. INEC is not aware of any other party’s primary,” Olurode said.

The PUNCH reports that Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, last Wednesday, emerged as the Accord Party candidate for next year’s poll.

Adeleke was the only aspirant in that primary, also held in Osogbo.

Announcing the result, Abdulazeez Salaudeen, Secretary of the electoral committee that conducted the primary, said Adeleke polled 145 votes out of 150 delegates drawn from the state’s 30 local government areas.

Five votes were voided.

“The electoral committee has delivered on its mandate. After voting and counting witnessed by the agents of the candidate and the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, having the highest number of votes, I declare Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the primary,” Salaudeen said.

Reacting to the factional primary, the caretaker Chairman of Accord Party in Osun State, Babalola Akande, said those who organised the exercise are not recognised by the party.

Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Sunday, Akande reiterated that Adeleke remains the duly nominated and lawful governorship candidate of the Accord Party in the state.

He said, “This position is incontestable, irreversible, and firmly grounded in law, having emerged through due process in accordance with the Constitution of the Accord, the Electoral Act 2022, and established judicial precedents,” he said.

He urged Osun residents to ignore the “distractions, which are the handiwork of politically displaced actors who, having been repeatedly rejected by the electorate, now resort to impersonation, falsehood, and institutional sabotage in a futile bid to return to power through the back door.

“We are hearing that the person being used for this purpose is a legal practitioner. That, to us, will make our job easy, as our party will stop at nothing but to report him to the appropriate authorities, including the LPDC.

“We therefore make bold to state that any institution or authority that accords recognition, protection, or legitimacy to such impostors or their activities does so at its own legal peril, as the Accord will promptly and decisively invoke necessary judicial intervention to protect its constitutional rights, internal democracy, and the sanctity of the ballot.

“For the final time, and for the sake of emphasis, by virtue of the valid primary election lawfully conducted on Wednesday, 10th December 2025, Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke is the sole and legally recognised governorship candidate of the Accord in Osun State. No parallel structure, no impersonator, and no contrived spectacle can alter this legal reality.”

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