A faction of the Accord Party in Oyo State led by Chris IImumolenhas rejected the parallel governorship primary elections conducted in the state and announced plans to organise a fresh exercise.
The development followed Tuesday’s parallel governorship primaries conducted by rival factions of the party, with one faction declaring Olakunle Busari, popularly known as “Gudugudu,” as the winner.
According to reports, the exercise that produced Busari as the party’s governorship candidate was monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission as well as the party’s National Secretary, Adebukola Ajaja.
However, another faction of the party reportedly conducted a separate primary election and declared Oriyomi Hamzat winner of the contest.
Videos from the exercise circulated widely on X, with the faction claiming Hamzat secured victory based on widespread grassroots support, although no official breakdown of votes was provided.
Reacting to the situation in a statement issued on Wednesday, Imumolen dismissed the parallel primaries organised by factions loyal to Maxwell Mgbudem, describing the exercises as invalid and without legal backing.
He insisted that he remains the authentic national chairman of the party and maintained that any primary election conducted outside his leadership structure would not be recognised.
