The national leadership of Accord Party led by Maxwell Mgbuden has dismissed as illegitimate a protest staged by its former presidential candidate Christopher Imumolen at the headquarters of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
It insisted that Imumolen had been expelled from the party and that there was no faction or leadership crisis in its fold.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, Mgbuden described Imumolen’s April 21 demonstration at INEC as a “poorly scripted show,” accusing him of seeking cheap publicity by falsely claiming to have a court order recognising him as chairman of the party.
Mgbuden said the party would ordinarily have ignored the protest, but chose to respond to correct what he called a deliberate attempt to mislead Nigerians into believing there is a leadership dispute within Accord.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there is no leadership dispute or faction in Accord, and there is no court order in favour of Imumolen or anybody for INEC to comply with,” Mgbuden said.
He traced the dispute to an ex parte order allegedly obtained by Imumolen from an FCT High Court on August 3, 2024, which Accord subsequently challenged. According to him, the court later ordered status quo to be maintained and directed Imumolen and his associates to vacate the party’s national secretariat, which he said they had forcefully occupied.
Mgbuden further said the legal challenge brought by Imumolen suffered a major setback when an FCT High Court, presided over by Justice F. A. Aliyu, struck out the suit on July 17, 2025, ruling it was a non-justiciable intra-party leadership dispute and declining jurisdiction.
The Accord chairman also said Imumolen ceased to be a member of the party after he and 10 others were expelled on November 20, 2024, following findings of anti-party activities by the party’s disciplinary committee, a decision ratified by the National Executive Committee.
“From the above, Imumolen is no longer a member of the party effective November 20, 2024. He did not appeal his expulsion till date,” he said.
Mgbuden warned aspirants and members of the public against what he described as “political merchants” engaging in forum shopping, insisting Imumolen’s actions did not emanate from the party and do not reflect any internal crisis.
He reaffirmed that he remains the authentic national chairman of Accord, having emerged at the party’s July 28, 2024 national convention in Abuja, which he said was monitored by INEC.
Turning to the 2027 political season, Mgbuden said Accord is focused on the forthcoming governorship elections in Ekiti State and Osun State, as well as the 2027 general elections.
He described Accord as the “fastest growing political party in the country,” citing the entry of Ademola Adeleke and his supporters into the party as a major boost to its fortunes.
Mgbuden also said the party, which he described as the ruling party in Osun, is confident of retaining power in the August 15, 2027 governorship election, noting that support for Adeleke’s re-election is unprecedented.
He called on Nigerians to join Accord, declaring the party remains united and committed to democratic growth.
“Accord remains the most peaceful party in Nigeria,” he said. “It has become the beautiful bride of Nigerian democracy.”
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