…Disputes Olawepo-Hashim’s nomination
By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA — A fresh crisis has hit the Accord Party after its Nasarawa State chapter rejected the presidential affirmation primary that produced Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as the party’s candidate, describing vote figures attributed to the state as false and challenging the legitimacy of the exercise.
The dispute centres on a claim that Nasarawa State delivered 47,309 affirmative votes for Olawepo-Hashim.
The state chapter, however, says no primary took place and argues that the figure far exceeds its membership strength, raising fresh questions about the credibility of the reported result.
The position was contained in a statement issued by the Accord Party Publicity Secretary in Nasarawa State, Mr Oshi Ebegye.
Ebegye said: “As the Publicity Secretary of the party in Nasarawa State, I state unequivocally that the claim is false, misleading, and does not reflect the reality on the ground.
“To the best of my knowledge as a duly recognized state officer of the party, no affirmation primary was conducted in Nasarawa State. Consequently, the claim that such an exercise took place and produced 47,309 votes is entirely unfounded.”
Ebegye also questioned the figures credited to Nasarawa State, noting that the party’s membership strength in the state was below 4,000.
“It is also pertinent to note that the membership strength of the Accord Party in Nasarawa State is not up to 4,000. The publication of 47,309 votes from the state therefore raises serious concerns regarding the authenticity and credibility of the figures being circulated,” he said.
Ebegye further extended the challenge to several other states listed as participants in the affirmation exercise.
He added: “Furthermore, we maintain that Nasarawa State, alongside Katsina, Zamfara, Borno, Yobe, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bauchi, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Lagos, and several other states, did not participate in any affirmation exercise as recently reported.
“To the best of our knowledge, no coordinated, verifiable, or officially recognized affirmation process was conducted in these states. The figures attributed to them are therefore unverified and inconsistent with activities known to the party structures on the ground.
“We further contend that Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim did not satisfy the constitutional requirements necessary to emerge as the presidential candidate of the Accord Party.
“Accordingly, any publication or claim presenting him as the duly nominated presidential candidate remains disputed and should be treated with caution pending clarification through the appropriate party and legal processes.”
Rejecting the outcome of the exercise, Ebegye urged party members, stakeholders and the public to disregard the reported figures.
“In view of the foregoing, we reject the purported results and urge party members, stakeholders, and the general public to disregard the figures being circulated, as they do not emanate from any process recognized by the Accord Party structure in Nasarawa State,” he said.
The statement insisted that only exercises conducted in accordance with the party’s constitution could be recognised as valid.
Ebegye said the party remained committed to internal democracy, transparency, due process and strict adherence to its constitution, insisting that only exercises conducted in line with the party’s constitutional provisions could be regarded as valid.