The leadership crisis within the Accord Party has taken a new dimension in Oyo State after a faction led by Chris Imumolen rejected the parallel governorship primaries held on Tuesday and announced plans for a fresh exercise.
Two rival factions of the party conducted separate governorship primaries, with one group declaring Olakunle Busari, popularly known as “Gudugudu,” as its candidate.
According to NAN, Adebukola Ajaja, national secretary of the Accord Party, alongside officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), supervised the exercise that produced Busari as the party’s flagbearer.
However, in two viral videos shared on X, another faction declared Oriyomi Hamzat as the winner of the primary election.
That faction, reportedly operating under a different national executive structure, said Hamzat emerged due to strong grassroots support, although no detailed vote count was provided.
Reacting in a statement on Wednesday, Imumolen dismissed the parallel primaries conducted by factions loyal to Maxwell Mgbudem, describing them as invalid and insisting he remains the authentic national chairman of the party.
He further stated that neither Hamzat nor Busari is the legitimate governorship candidate, adding that the emergence of competing outcomes reflected “institutional confusion, greed, money politics and weak leadership”.
Imumolen said the conduct of the primaries under the Mgbudem-led faction had subjected the party to public embarrassment due to contradictory results from the same process.
He argued that the situation further justified concerns raised by members questioning the legitimacy and credibility of the rival faction.
He also announced the formation of a disciplinary committee to investigate the conduct of Mgbudem and Ajaja during the primaries.
Imumolen assured party stakeholders in Oyo State that the national leadership would organise a fresh, transparent, and unified primary to select a credible governorship candidate.
“The authentic leadership of the party remains committed to internal democracy, justice and the rule of law and will not allow selfish interests to undermine its integrity,” he said.
He urged members to remain calm as efforts continue to reposition the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.