The factional National Chairman of Accord, Prof Chris Imumolen, has said the party’s leadership crisis predates the entry of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke and cannot be resolved by his recent victory in the governorship election.
Imumolen also described Accord’s decision to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election as an internal political decision, particularly as the party does not have a presidential candidate.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Imumolen urged politicians, stakeholders and other interested parties to stop linking the party’s internal leadership dispute with the Osun State governorship election.
He said the leadership crisis was a national legal matter before the courts and should be resolved through the judicial process rather than the outcome of an election in Osun State.
“Nobody should interfere with the internal leadership crisis of Accord. This is a matter before the courts, and we shall pursue it to its logical and lawful conclusion,” he said.
Imumolen said the dispute did not begin with Adeleke’s entry into Accord or the Osun governorship election, noting that the matter had been subject to legal proceedings since 2024.
He cited Suit No. FCT/HC/M/11850/2024, saying an interim/ex-parte order was issued by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on August 29, 2024, in a leadership dispute involving him and other claimants against Barr Maxwell Mgbudem and others.
According to him, the court directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise him as National Chairman of Accord pending the determination of the substantive suit.
He further said the court restrained the defendants from parading themselves as members of the party’s National Executive Committee and from conducting state and local government congresses pending the determination of the substantive matter.
Imumolen said the legal process was already underway before Adeleke joined Accord, adding that the governor subsequently aligned with one of the factions.
“I make this statement not to personalise the dispute, but to put the facts in their proper context,” he said.
He added that efforts were made to engage Adeleke and seek a political and internal resolution to the crisis after the governor joined the party, but the attempts did not produce the desired outcome.
On Accord’s support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections, Imumolen said the decision was a political and internal matter, stressing that the party’s position should not be conflated with the leadership dispute.
“I was contacted by the former Governor of Osun State, Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola, around the period Governor Adeleke was preparing to join the party. However, after the governor’s entry into Accord, subsequent efforts to establish meaningful communication and achieve a comprehensive reconciliation did not yield the desired outcome.
“Eventually, the competing structures proceeded with simultaneous primaries in Osun State, producing different candidates. Only after that development did further efforts to reach out and resolve the differences begin, but unfortunately, we could not arrive at a mutually acceptable conclusion.
“Let me also make it clear that my experience with the other faction did not begin with the Osun election. I had previously encountered serious disagreements with elements of that faction, including issues surrounding resource management during my 2023 presidential campaign.
“These historical circumstances are important because they demonstrate that the Accord leadership crisis is not a crisis created by the Osun election, nor is it a dispute that can be resolved merely by the outcome of that election.
“I have consistently maintained that the proper place to determine who is legally entitled to lead Accord is the court—not the street, not political propaganda and not an election campaign.
“Let me therefore make this absolutely clear. The Osun election is an election. The Accord leadership dispute is a national party and legal matter. They are two different issues. The Osun election has come and gone. Whichever candidate wins or loses, the national leadership question within Accord remains a matter to be determined through the appropriate legal process.
“Even with the conclusion of the Osun election, the Accord leadership case will continue. It is therefore wrong for anyone to suggest that the outcome of the Osun election will automatically determine who leads Accord nationally. Accord is a national political party. Its national leadership cannot be reduced to the political circumstances or outcome of an election in one state.
“Our position is simple and unwavering. We shall continue to pursue the Accord leadership matter through every lawful judicial process available to us until the courts finally determine the competing claims and the rightful leadership of the party is recognised.
“We recognise the authority of the courts, and we will abide by the final judicial determination. But equally, nobody should ask us to abandon a legitimate legal process merely because an election has taken place in Osun State. The election cannot extinguish the case. The case does not depend on the election.
“We are not pursuing this matter because of Osun. We are pursuing it because the leadership of a national political party must be determined according to the law and the constitution of the party”.
Speaking on their support for the candidacy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election, Prof Imumolen said, “I also want to remove any possible misunderstanding concerning our position on the 2027 presidential election. Accord does not have a presidential candidate for the 2027 presidential election, as it has stepped down from the presidential race.
“Accordingly, we shall continue to openly declare our support for the re-election of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and continue to mobilise support for his national mandate. There is absolutely no contradiction between supporting President Tinubu and pursuing the Accord leadership case in court.
“Our presidential position is a political decision. The Accord leadership dispute is a legal and internal party matter. One does not cancel the other. I therefore appeal to all Accord members, supporters and stakeholders to remain calm, disciplined and law-abiding.
“We should allow the courts to do their work. Nobody should attempt to settle the national leadership question through the outcome of the Osun election, political pressure, media propaganda or unilateral declarations.
“Our commitment to Accord remains intact. Our commitment to the rule of law remains absolute. We shall continue to pursue the judicial process until the legitimate leadership question is finally settled. Irrespective of the outcome of the Osun election, the national leadership case of Accord shall continue until its lawful conclusion.
“The message is simple. The Osun election is not the Accord leadership case. The election will come and go. The national leadership question remains. We shall remain in court until justice is done”.
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