The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun State has disowned a governorship primary allegedly organised by a faction of the Accord Party, saying it had no notice of such an exercise.
A group within the party reportedly held a primary election in Osogbo on Sunday and announced Bamigbola Clement as its candidate for the August 8, 2026, governorship election. The exercise reportedly began with delegate accreditation and took place under heavy police presence.
Bamigbola, who was the sole aspirant presented to delegates, confirmed his emergence as the consensus candidate.
“It is true. We conducted our primary, and I emerged as the consensus candidate,” he said.
However, INEC’s Public Relations Officer in Osun, Musa Olurode, said the commission only monitored one Accord Party primary and had no knowledge of any parallel process.
“We monitored the Accord Party primary conducted a few days ago, and our report has been submitted. INEC is not aware of any other primary,” Olurode said.
Last Wednesday, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke emerged as the Accord Party’s governorship candidate after a primary held in Osogbo. He was the only aspirant in the exercise.
Announcing the result, the party’s electoral committee chairman said Adeleke secured the highest number of votes after an exercise witnessed by party agents and INEC officials.
Reacting to Sunday’s factional primary, the Accord Party’s caretaker chairman in Osun, Babalola Akande, dismissed the exercise as illegal and unauthorised.
Speaking to journalists in Osogbo, Akande said the organisers were not recognised by the party and insisted that Adeleke remains the party’s validly nominated candidate.
According to him, the governor’s emergence followed due process and complied with the party’s constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and relevant court decisions.
Akande urged residents to ignore what he described as distractions orchestrated by individuals he accused of impersonation and political mischief.
He also warned that the party would take legal action against those involved, including reporting any legal practitioners linked to the exercise to appropriate disciplinary bodies.
Akande stressed that any institution that recognises the factional group does so at its own legal risk, adding that the party would seek judicial intervention if necessary.
“For emphasis, the primary conducted on December 10, 2025, produced Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke as the sole and legally recognised governorship candidate of the Accord Party in Osun State,” he said.
