The Accord Party has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit seeking to disqualify all its candidates for the 2027 general elections.
The party also accused its National Secretary, Adebukola Ajaja, of abandoning her official responsibilities and instituting a legally defective case against the party.
In a preliminary objection filed before the court, the party argued that the suit was statute-barred, lacked merit and was instituted outside the 14 days prescribed by law.
The objection, marked FHC/ABJ/CV/2524/2026, was filed by its counsel, Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, who also challenged the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
Accord maintained that the nomination of candidates was an internal party affair and argued that Ajaja lacked the legal standing to institute the action because she was not an aspirant in the party’s primary election conducted on May 29, 2026.
The party further faulted the suit for allegedly failing to join the candidates whose nominations the plaintiff is seeking to invalidate, arguing that they would be directly affected by any decision of the court and ought to have been allowed to defend their interests.
It also described the suit as premature, claiming that Ajaja failed to serve the party with the mandatory 21-day pre-action notice.
Defending its primary election, Accord insisted that the exercise was conducted in compliance with relevant electoral laws and party guidelines, adding that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had recognised the outcome and received the list of its candidates through the prescribed process.
The party also defended the decision of its National Chairman, Maxwell Mgbudem, and National Organising Secretary, Ibe Kenechukwu ThankGod, to sign and submit the candidates’ lists to INEC in the absence of the National Secretary.
According to the party, its constitution and INEC’s regulations do not make the National Secretary’s signature a compulsory requirement for the submission of candidates’ lists.
It cited Article 18 of its constitution and Regulations 25(3) and 28(2) of INEC’s Guidelines for Political Parties, arguing that the National Chairman and National Organising Secretary were authorised to handle the submission.
“The National Executives of the party expressly authorised the 4th defendant to co-sign with the 3rd defendant. No wrong has been done,” the party argued.
Accord also relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Jegede v. INEC, insisting that even if the National Chairman had signed the forwarding letter alone, the submission would still have been valid.
In a counter-affidavit, Mgbudem accused Ajaja of abandoning her responsibilities as National Secretary, dismissing her allegation that the National Organising Secretary had usurped her duties.
He alleged that Ajaja had stopped attending meetings of the National Working Committee, which comprises the party’s national executive officers.
“The plaintiff is the National Secretary, but she had stopped attending the meetings of the National Working Committee, which, under our party’s constitution comprises the National Executive Officers.
“She did not attend the past three consecutive National Working Committee meetings,” Mgbudem stated.
The National Chairman further disclosed that the party’s National Working Committee, under his leadership, resolved at a meeting on May 24, 2026, that he and the National Organising Secretary should jointly sign the forwarding letters for candidates who emerged victorious in the primaries.
He maintained that the arrangement was authorised under Article 18(1) of the party’s constitution, which recognises him as its Chief Executive, and Article 18(1)(v), which empowers him to assign specific responsibilities to party members and officers.
Mgbudem said that following the conclusion of the primaries for all contested elective positions, except the presidential ticket, which the party did not contest, the names of successful candidates were electronically forwarded to INEC by him and the National Organising Secretary.
He added that electronic submission of candidates’ forms did not require the physical signatures of all party officials, citing the large number of political parties and candidates participating in the 2027 elections.
The Accord chairman also questioned Ajaja’s handling of party finances and accused her of making inaccurate claims about the number of pending court cases arising from the primaries.
He claimed that at least 16 cases had been instituted in connection with the party’s primary elections, contrary to the impression allegedly created by the National Secretary.
