Setback for Adeleke second term bid, Accord Party faction names Bamigbola 2026 gov candidate

Setback for Adeleke second term bid, Accord Party faction names Bamigbola 2026 gov candidate 

The internal crisis rocking the Accord Party in Osun State deepened on Sunday as a rival faction of the party conducted a parallel governorship primary that produced Mr. Clement Bamigbola as its candidate for the 2026 governorship election.

The development came barely four days after Governor Ademola Adeleke was announced as the Accord Party’s governorship candidate following a primary election organised by a faction loyal to the party’s national leadership under Barrister Maxwell Mgbudem.

That earlier exercise, held on Wednesday, had thrown up Adeleke as the party’s flagbearer, a move that immediately sparked controversy within the party.

A dissenting faction rejected the process, insisting that Mgbudem is not the legally recognised National Chairman of Accord and therefore lacks the authority to conduct a valid primary election.

In a counter move on Sunday, the aggrieved faction organised its own governorship primary in Osogbo, the state capital. The exercise, which took place at Regina Suites, was attended by about 300 delegates drawn from across the 30 local government areas of the state.

At the end of the exercise, Bamigbola emerged as the faction’s governorship candidate through a voice vote conducted by the delegates and supervised by the faction’s electoral committee. He was subsequently declared winner by the committee, which described the process as transparent and in line with the party’s constitution.

The faction maintained that its primary was the only legitimate exercise recognised by its leadership structure, reiterating that the process which produced Adeleke was invalid due to alleged leadership irregularities at the national level.

The parallel primaries have further exposed the deepening schism within the Accord Party in Osun State, raising fresh questions about which faction the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will eventually recognise ahead of the 2026 governorship election.

Political observers note that unless the crisis is urgently resolved through reconciliation or legal clarification, the party risks being shut out of the race or weakened by prolonged internal disputes at a time when preparations for the Osun governorship contest are gathering momentum.