‘No One Can Exclude Me’: Accord’s Hashim Insists He Remains In 2027 Presidential Race Despite INEC List | Sahara Reporters

In a statement issued in Abuja, Hashim described the exclusion as a matter still subject to judicial determination, insisting that he remains the duly nominated presidential candidate of the Accord Party.

The presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has insisted that no administrative action by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can remove him from the 2027 presidential race.

Hashim spoke after his name was excluded from the final list of presidential candidates published by INEC at the weekend.

In a statement issued in Abuja, Hashim described the exclusion as a matter still subject to judicial determination, insisting that he remains the duly nominated presidential candidate of the Accord Party.

“I am the candidate of the Accord Party. No one can exclude me from the 2027 presidential election. The court will do justice,” he said.

Hashim argued that Nigeria’s constitutional democracy does not give INEC overriding “finality” over disputes concerning the emergence of a political party’s candidate.

“Our democracy does not give INEC any right of finality over who stands as the candidate of a political party,” he said.

“Where there is 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 have 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 is why nobody should assume that an administrative publication by INEC is the final word in a matter that is before the courts,” he said.

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.

His case is based on his claim 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 maintained that the dispute could not be conclusively determined by an administrative publication by the electoral commission.

“The publication by INEC is not the final determination of my candidacy. There is 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 have 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 will see this process through to its lawful conclusion,” Hashim said.

The Accord candidate also accused unnamed political forces of preferring a presidential contest based on division, sentiment and weakened opposition rather than substantive national issues.

“We know for a fact that those who have benefited from the dysfunction in Nigeria, together with their enablers across various institutions, are scared stiff of one candidate being on that ballot—Gbenga Hashim,” he said.

“I am the candidate they cannot easily fit into their old calculations. I am the candidate capable of winning votes across North and South. I am prepared to fight over issues that matter to ordinary Nigerians and over the future of this country, rather than participate in the politics of division, ethnicity, religion and sentiment.”

He added: “They may be comfortable competing against wounded candidates. They may be comfortable with a political environment where Nigerians are forced to choose between factions and personalities. But they are uncomfortable with a candidate who can speak to Nigerians across the country on the basis of ideas, competence and national interest.

“But, this plot, however sophisticated, shall fail by the grace of God.”

Hashim said his legal challenge was not only about his political ambition but also about the integrity of party primaries, internal democracy and Nigerians’ right to choose their preferred presidential candidates.

“The real issue is whether a political party can conduct a presidential primary, produce a winner, and subsequently prevent that winner from participating in the election.

“If that can happen without judicial scrutiny, then, what happens to internal democracy within political parties? What happens to the right of party members who participated in the primary? And ultimately, what happens to the right of Nigerians to choose who they want on the ballot?

“That is why this case matters beyond Gbenga Hashim. It is about whether the rules of our democracy apply to everyone, including those who occupy powerful institutions.”

He urged his supporters and other Nigerians who believe in democratic choice to remain calm while he pursues the matter through legal channels.

“I am not asking anyone to break the law. I am asking that the law be allowed to work.

“We will not be intimidated, we will not be distracted and we will not surrender a legitimate democratic right because somebody has published a list.

“The court will speak, and when it does, we will abide by the judgment,” he said.

INEC had earlier published its final list of presidential candidates and their running mates for the January 2027 general elections.

The list, signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, was released on Saturday in Abuja and contains candidates sponsored by 18 political parties.

The published list contains 18 presidential candidates, including African Action Congress candidate Omoyele Sowore, All Progressives Congress candidate Bola Tinubu, African Democratic Congress candidate Atiku Abubakar, Nigerian Democratic Congress candidate Peter Gregory Obi, Social Democratic Party candidate Adewole Ebenezer Adebayo, and Allied Peoples Movement candidate Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde.