The factional National Chairman of the Accord Party and former presidential candidate, Christopher Imumolen, has described the nomination of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2027 election as illegal.
Imumolen insisted that the Accord Party’s legitimate governorship candidate in Osun State is Clement Kolawole, who he said emerged from a valid and recognised primary election conducted under his leadership.
Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, on Monday, Imumolen argued that Adeleke’s emergence had no connection to the legally recognised leadership of the party.
“He emerged through a process that is neither recognised nor legal. The faction that claims to have brought him into the party is not the faction in charge of the Accord Party today,” Imumolen stated.
According to him, the Accord Party, under his chairmanship, conducted a credible governorship primary to ensure the emergence of a candidate who would not face post-election legal challenges.
“To safeguard the party and ensure we present a candidate capable of retaining the mandate without legal obstacles, we conducted a proper primary and produced Clement Kolawole for the people of Osun State and the Accord Party,” he said.
Imumolen traced the party’s leadership crisis to its national convention held in July last year, where he said he contested the chairmanship position against a rival candidate from the Maxwell faction and secured victory with the support of over 500 delegates.
Despite the outcome, he alleged that members of the opposing faction continued to lay claim to the party’s caretaker committee.
“At the time, there were two factions. I did not want the Accord Party to appear unserious, so we approached the court quietly for clarification,” he explained.
He stressed that the legal action was not borne out of doubt over his leadership but was intended to establish legitimacy and order within the party. According to him, the court later directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise him as the National Chairman of the Accord Party.
Imumolen further disclosed that when the party became aware of Governor Adeleke’s intention to join Accord, attempts were made to brief him on the internal leadership dispute. However, those efforts failed, and Adeleke went on to conduct primaries with the Maxwell faction.
He maintained that, based on the court ruling and the conduct of a valid primary election, Clement Kolawole remains the lawful governorship candidate of the Accord Party in Osun State for the 2027 elections.