The Accord Party’s internal crisis has intensified following the outright rejection of former presidential candidate Chris Imumolen by the party’s National Coordinator, Rev. Isaac Adeniyi, who reaffirmed the party’s support for Governor Ademola Adeleke’s governorship ambition.
The development comes amid an ongoing legal battle instituted by a faction aligned with Imumolen, challenging the legitimacy of the party’s current leadership.
On December 3, a faction of the party filed a suit at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, marked FCT/CV/4955/2025. The case, instituted by Oliver Bitrus against the Accord Party, its National Chairman, Maxwell Mgbudem, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeks to invalidate the proposed Osun State governorship primaries and uphold the alleged suspension of Mgbudem.
Arguing through his counsel, Daniel Edeachi, Bitrus maintained that Mgbudem and his deputy, Chief Okey Nwosu, were suspended by a splinter group over alleged anti-party activities. The faction further claimed it appointed Prof. Chris Imumolen as national leader, relying on a Federal High Court judgment which it said recognised him as the lawful head of the party.
Acting on the authority he claimed, Imumolen criticised Governor Ademola Adeleke’s defection to the party, describing it as a “back door entry” and declaring it invalid. The Imumolen-led faction subsequently conducted a parallel governorship primary, but INEC accepted only the primary that produced Adeleke as the party’s candidate.
