Get Guardian on Google• Accord Party seeks dismissal of suit on candidates’ disqualification
Presidential candidate of the Accord Party (AP), Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has extended his 2027 election campaign to rural and underserved communities in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Jigawa states, towards achieving the Hashim Progressive Movement’s target of six million votes across the North-West.
The campaign, according to him, was moving beyond major towns and established political centres to reach rural populations often overlooked during conventional electioneering activities.
This comes as the movement hopes to engage residents who frequently experience limited government presence and inadequate access to public services.
Meanwhile, the Accord Party (AP) has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit seeking the disqualification of all its candidates for the 2027 general elections over its status.
In a preliminary objection, it faulted the competence of the suit filed by its National Secretary, Adebukola Ajaja, because it is statute-barred, having been instituted outside the 14 days allowed under the law, among others.
The AP also queried the court’s jurisdiction to entertain a case on candidates’ nomination, which falls within the internal affairs of a political party.
While querying the plaintiff’s locus standi in the suit, having not participated as an aspirant in the primary election conducted on May 29, the party, among others, also faulted the competence of the suit on the grounds that proper parties were not included.
It argued that its primary was conducted in accordance with all relevant laws and guidelines, adding that the Independent National Electoral Commission has since recognised its outcome and the list of candidates duly submitted to the electoral umpire in the prescribed format.
