ABUJA — The entry of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke into the Accord Party deepened the party’s existing leadership crisis, rather than causing it, National Chairman Prof. Chris Imumolen has said.
Imumolen made the allegation while addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, stressing that the dispute over the party’s leadership dates back to 2024 and was already before the courts before Adeleke joined Accord.
He said Adeleke’s arrival had complicated efforts to reconcile the rival factions, alleging that the governor eventually aligned with one of the contending groups.
“Governor Adeleke’s coming to the party became a disaster. He did not harmonise the party, he disunited the party, and he took side with one faction. It’s not supposed to be so,” Imumolen said.
The Accord chairman, however, emphasised that the leadership dispute was not triggered by Adeleke’s defection or the recently concluded Osun State governorship election.
Imumolen cited Suit No. FCT/HC/M/11850/2024 before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, saying the court issued an interim order on August 29, 2024, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise him as National Chairman of Accord pending determination of the substantive suit.
He said the order also restrained the opposing group from parading itself as the party’s National Executive Committee.
According to Imumolen, the legal dispute therefore predates Adeleke’s entry into Accord and should not be portrayed as a crisis arising from the Osun governorship election.
He said efforts were subsequently made to engage Adeleke and other stakeholders to reconcile the competing structures, but alleged that the attempts failed after the governor identified with one of the factions.
Imumolen said the development contributed to the emergence of competing political structures and simultaneous governorship primaries in Osun State.
He maintained that the outcome of the Osun election could not determine the national leadership of Accord because the two issues were separate.
“The Osun election is an election. The Accord leadership dispute is a national party and legal matter. They are two different issues,” he said.
The national chairman argued that Accord’s leadership could not be determined by the outcome of an election in one state, insisting that the leadership case would continue before the courts regardless of the winner of the Osun governorship election.
He said his faction would pursue all available legal avenues and urged party members and stakeholders to allow the judiciary to resolve the competing claims.
“We recognise the authority of the courts, and we will abide by the final judicial determination,” Imumolen said.
He also said the party’s decision to step down from the 2027 presidential race and support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid was separate from the internal leadership dispute.
Imumolen urged Accord members to remain committed to the party and the rule of law, insisting that the leadership question would remain before the courts until it is finally resolved.
“The election will come and go. The national leadership question remains. We shall remain in court until justice is done,” he said.
