Accord Party Rejects Imumolen's Support for APC Candidate, Backs Adeleke

The leadership of Accord Party in Osun State has denied Christopher Imumolen's support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji. They insist that Governor Ademola Adeleke is still Accord Party’s candidate for the election on Saturday.

This statement came just hours after Mr Imumolen appeared at the APC’s last campaign rally in Osogbo on Thursday. There, he said that Accord had withdrawn support for Mr Adeleke and told party members to vote for Mr Oyebamiji.

However, Accord Party's Osun State chapter issued a statement in Osogbo on Thursday. They rejected Mr Imumolen's endorsement, calling him an “impersonator” and said he does not speak for the party’s leadership.

The statement was signed by the state chairman, Victor Akande. He said that the party’s official National Chairman is Maxwell Mgbudem and that they have not endorsed any candidate other than Mr Adeleke.

“The Accord Party and its National Working Committee still recognises Senator Ademola Adeleke as its only candidate for the Osun Governorship election,” the statement said.

The party asked voters to ignore Mr Imumolen’s announcement, which they said aimed to cause confusion within the party just days before the election.

At the APC mega rally earlier on Thursday, Mr Imumolen introduced himself as the National Chairman of Accord. He announced that the party had stopped supporting Mr Adeleke.

“As the national chairman of [the] Accord Party, we have taken down our support for Ademola Adeleke and today, we declare our support for Ambo (Oyebamiji),” he stated.

This issue comes from a long-running leadership fight within Accord. Both Mr Imumolen and Mr Mgbudem have claimed leadership of the party at different times.

According to INEC’s latest records, Maxwell Mgbudem is the National Chairman of Accord and Adebukola Abiola is National Secretary. The Mgbudem-led leadership has previously dismissed Mr Imumolen’s claim to the chairmanship. In April, Mr Mgbudem said Mr Imumolen had been expelled from the party and that his claim to the chairmanship was not valid.

Mr Imumolen continues to say that he is the real national chairman. In April, he led supporters to INEC’s headquarters in Abuja demanding recognition. Reports then showed the competing claims, noting that INEC recognised the Mgbudem-led leadership.

The disagreement has affected the party’s activities as different factions run separate political events, each claiming authority over the party.

With this background, Mr Imumolen’s appearance at the APC rally and support for Mr Oyebamiji has led to more conflict between the two sides.

Mr Akande, the Osun Accord chairman, said the party was “highly embarrassed” by the endorsement. He accused the APC of trying to take advantage of the party's internal problems.

He claimed that the APC had tried to create divisions in Accord by backing a rival leadership.

“The public should take note that the Accord Party and its National Working Committee still recognises Senator Ademola Adeleke as its only candidate for the Osun Governorship election,” he said.

He also called the APC’s actions “desperation” ahead of Saturday’s election and urged voters in Osun not to be misled by the endorsement.