The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun State has distanced itself from reports of a parallel governorship primary allegedly conducted by a faction of the Accord Party, saying it was not notified of such an exercise.
Reports had emerged that a faction of the party held a primary on Sunday in Osogbo, the state capital, where Bamigbola Clement was announced as the party’s candidate for the August 8, 2026, governorship election. Clement, who was presented as the sole aspirant, said his emergence followed a consensus arrangement.
However, INEC’s Public Relations Officer in Osun State, Musa Olurode, dismissed the claim, stating that the commission only monitored the officially recognised Accord Party primary held earlier.
“We monitored the Accord Party primary held a few days ago, and our report has already been filed. INEC has no knowledge of any other primary by the party,” Olurode said.
The officially recognised primary took place last Wednesday in Osogbo and produced Governor Ademola Adeleke as the Accord Party’s governorship candidate. According to the party’s electoral committee secretary, Abdulazeez Salaudeen, Adeleke polled 145 votes out of 150 accredited delegates, with five votes declared void.
Reacting to the reports of a parallel exercise, the caretaker chairman of the Accord Party in Osun State, Babalola Akande, dismissed the factional primary as illegal and lacking authority. He insisted that Adeleke remains the party’s legitimate candidate.
“This position is final, lawful, and beyond dispute. No parallel arrangement, impersonation, or stage-managed event can overturn this reality,” Akande said.
He also warned that the party would take legal action against individuals or groups attempting to legitimise or promote the factional exercise, describing them as “politically displaced elements seeking a return to relevance through illegitimate means.”
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