Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, presidential candidate of the Accord Party, has declared that no administrative action by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can extinguish his candidacy for the 2027 presidential election.
Hashim was reacting to his exclusion from the final list of presidential candidates published by INEC, over the weekend.
In a statement issued in Abuja, yesterday, Hashim described the development as a matter that remains subject to judicial determination, insisting that he remains the duly nominated presidential candidate of the Accord Party.
“I’m the candidate of the Accord Party. No one can exclude me from the 2027 presidential election. The court will do justice, he said.
Hashim said Nigeria’s constitutional democracy doesn’t confer on INEC an overriding power of “finality” over disputes concerning who emerges as a political party’s candidate.
According to him, the adjudicatory powers vested in the courts exist precisely to prevent administrative decisions from becoming instruments of impunity or a means of foreclosing legitimate political rights.
“Our democracy doesn’t give INEC any right of finality over who stands as the candidate of a political party. Where there’s a dispute over the emergence or exclusion of a candidate, the adjudicatory functions of the courts are provided precisely to prevent impunity and to ensure that no administrative process becomes a pre-planned mechanism for keeping particular candidates off the ballot.
“We’ve seen this before. In the last Osun governorship election, the courts intervened in circumstances where candidates initially excluded from INEC’s processes were subsequently restored to the ballot. That’s why nobody should assume that an administrative publication by INEC is the final word in a matter that is before the courts.”
Hashim has already taken the matter before the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking, among other reliefs, an order compelling the Accord Party to recognise him as its presidential candidate and transmit his name to INEC. The case has been heard and reserved for judgment.
His case rests on his contention that he emerged as the sole winner of Accord’s presidential primary held on May 30, 2026, after paying the prescribed nomination fee, with the exercise monitored by INEC officials.
He insisted that the dispute cannot be conclusively determined by an administrative listing. “The publication by INEC is not the final determination of my candidacy. There’s a subsisting legal dispute before the court, and I have confidence in the judicial process.
“I emerged from the presidential primary as the candidate. I’ve done what the law requires, and I believe the court will uphold the law.
“No individual or administrative action can take away a right that has been lawfully acquired. I remain the presidential candidate of Accord, and we’ll see this process through to its lawful conclusion,” Hashim said.
- INEC Can’t Exclude Me From 2027 Presidential Race – Hashim - September 14, 2026
- Kogi Govt Approves Reconstruction Of Amuro Community Secondary School - September 14, 2026
- Jonathan Mourns Bamanga Tukur, Describes Him As Distinguished Patriot - September 13, 2026