The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cleared the way for Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim of the Accord Party to contest the 2027 presidential election, bringing the number of candidates in the race to 19.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, who disclosed this, said the commission would comply with a Federal High Court judgement recognising Olawepo-Hashim as Accord’s presidential candidate.
The development follows the October 5, 2026 judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which ordered Accord Party to recognise Olawepo-Hashim as its presidential candidate and forward his name to INEC.
The judgement brought to an end months of internal wrangling over the party’s presidential ticket and paved the way for Olawepo-Hashim’s inclusion in the final list.
Amupitan said INEC would reflect the court order in its official records, increasing the number of presidential candidates from the 18 contained in the list published in September to 19.
The development is also coming against the backdrop of the political position of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who remains the only serving governor elected on the platform of the Accord Party.
Despite the party’s decision to field Olawepo-Hashim as its presidential candidate, Adeleke has publicly aligned himself with President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Adeleke’s position presents an unusual political situation ahead of the 2027 election, with the governor of a party fielding a presidential candidate supporting the candidate of another party.
His support for Tinubu has become significant in the political calculations surrounding Osun State, where the governor controls the state’s political machinery and remains one of Accord’s most prominent elected office holders.
Speaking on preparations for the general election, Amupitan described the 2027 polls as potentially Africa’s largest democratic exercise and one of the most complex logistical operations in the world.
He cited more than 103 million registered voters, 176,846 polling units and 774 local government areas as indications of the scale of the exercise.
The elections will cover the presidency, National Assembly, governorship and State Houses of Assembly, requiring INEC to coordinate millions of voters, electoral personnel, materials and security arrangements across the country.
