Presidential Poll: Court slates Wednesday to hear Olawepo-Hashim’s suit against INEC

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA— The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has deferred until Wednesday the hearing of a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as candidate of the Accord Party (AP) for the 2027 presidential election.

Justice Mohammed Umar adjourned the case after counsel to the plaintiff, Mr. Henry Akunebu, SAN, notified the court of processes INEC served on him and requested time to respond.

While Accord Party was listed as the 1st defendant in the matter, INEC was sued as the 2nd defendant.

Dr. Olawepo-Hashim had, in his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1263/2026, prayed the court to compel Accord Party to forward his name to INEC and for the commission to recognise him as a duly nominated candidate for the presidential poll.

He is urging the court to determine whether the party’s failure to upload his name to INEC’s nomination portal, despite his emerging as sole winner of its presidential primary on May 30, 2026, was not in violation of the Electoral Act 2026, the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and INEC’s guidelines for political parties.

He is seeking a declaration that the party’s refusal to forward his name breaches Section 86 of the Electoral Act 2026 and Clauses 28(1) and (2) of the electoral guidelines on candidate nomination, and wants the court to order Accord Party to upload and submit his name to INEC.

In the alternative, the plaintiff asked the court to direct the party to conduct a fresh presidential primary in which he would participate, should the court decline to order submission of his name.

In an affidavit he filed in support of the suit, the plaintiff described himself as a registered and financial member of the Accord Party.

He told the court that he sponsored the party’s electronic membership drive with a payment of ₦7 million.

According to the plaintiff, he also paid the prescribed ₦50 million nomination fee to contest the presidential primary, emerging as the sole aspirant and winner of the exercise, which he said was monitored by INEC officials in line with the Electoral Act.

He alleged that despite his victory, the party failed to submit his name to INEC, and that it had not issued aspirants with guidelines for the primary as required by INEC regulations, though he proceeded on the strength of assurances he said were given by the party’s national leadership.

Counsel to the plaintiff, Akunebu, SAN, argued that political parties are legally bound to comply with the Electoral Act, their constitutions, and INEC’s guidelines in nominating candidates.

He maintained that a party which conducts a valid primary is statutorily obligated to submit the winner’s name to INEC.

Akunebu, SAN, urged the court to uphold internal party democracy by granting all the reliefs his client is seeking.