The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun State has disowned a factional governorship primary purportedly conducted by a faction of the Accord Party on Sunday.
The faction held the exercise in Osogbo, the state capital, and declared one Bamigbola Clement as its candidate for the August 8, 2026 governorship election. Bamigbola, the only aspirant presented, confirmed his emergence, saying, “It is true. We had our primary, and I emerged the consensus candidate.”
However, INEC’s Public Relations Officer in Osun, Musa Olurode, said the commission was unaware of the parallel primary. “We have monitored the only Accord Party primary a few days ago. The report has been submitted. INEC is not aware of any other party’s primary,” he said.
The official Accord Party primary was held last Wednesday in Osogbo, producing Governor Ademola Adeleke as the party’s candidate. Adeleke polled 145 votes out of 150 delegates, with five votes declared void, according to Abdulazeez Salaudeen, Secretary of the electoral committee.
The caretaker Chairman of Accord Party in Osun, Babalola Akande, said the factional primary organisers are not recognised by the party. Speaking to journalists on Sunday, he reaffirmed that Adeleke remains the lawful candidate.
Akande said, “This position is incontestable, irreversible, and firmly grounded in law. No parallel structure, no impersonator, and no contrived spectacle can change this legal reality.”
He also warned that the party would take legal action against anyone who tries to recognise or support the factional candidates, calling their activities “the handiwork of politically displaced actors trying to return to power through the back door.”
