ABUJA, Nigeria – The national leadership of the Accord party on Thursday, April 23, 2026, rejected allegations that it had endorsed President Bola Tinubu, stating that it remains focused on the August 15, 2026, governorship election in Osun State.
Okay News reports that National Chairman, Maxwell Mgbudem, clarified the party position during a press conference in Abuja while addressing upcoming political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Mgbudem said, “There is nothing like that (Tinubu’s endorsement). This is a political party, and Governor Adeleke is our candidate. If there is any such endorsement, I assure you that the media will be the first to know. It will come from here.” He added that the party was currently finalizing candidate nomination processes for aspirants.
The clarification followed a dispute involving a billboard in Iwo, Osun State, which displayed images of both Tinubu and Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke. This display led to a verbal exchange between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Osun State Government, with Olawale Rasheed, the spokesperson for the governor, accusing the ruling party of an integrity crisis.
Regarding the governor’s political standing, Mgbudem said, “On Governor Adeleke, everybody in this country, including journalists, knows he has done wonderfully well in the state. And the people are eager to vote for him again.” He further noted that the Osun State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has also identified Senator Ademola Adeleke as its candidate for the August 15, 2026, election.
Mgbudem also denied the existence of any internal leadership conflict within the party. He dismissed claims made by Christopher Imumolen, an expelled former presidential candidate from 2023 who allegedly sought recognition as the national leader. Mgbudem said, “On Tuesday, the expelled former candidate of Accord, Prof Christopher Imumolen, staged a poorly scripted show with a few street urchins at INEC headquarters, seeking to be recognised as chairman of the party based on an imaginary court order in what will go down in history as the worst showmanship by a political neophyte.”
The party chairman stated that there is no court order in favor of Imumolen and that the party leadership structure remains unchanged.
