Olawepo-Hashim Tells Adeleke Being Governor Doesn’t Make Him Accord Party Leader

The Accord Party presidential candidate, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has dismissed any suggestion that Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s position as the party’s only elected governor makes him the party’s national leader.

Olawepo-Hashim made the assertion during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, following the announcement of Adeleke as a member of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the 2027 election.

“He cannot be the leader. He is a governor that was a beneficiary of office. When you have a party, you have the executive, the executive leaders of the party are the leaders of the party,” Olawepo-Hashim said.

He rejected the notion that Adeleke’s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu would sway voters in Osun State, arguing that the governor could not compel the people to support the APC candidate.

“The fact that he won his election as governor, Governor Adeleke cannot compel the people of Osun State to vote for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he stated.

Olawepo-Hashim described Osun voters as politically conscious and independent-minded, invoking the Yoruba concept of Omoluabi to underscore their character.

“Osun people, let me repeat, are incredibly honourable people, what we call Omoluabi in Yoruba parlance. They are ideological, they have great history, they are not conquered people, they do what they believe,” he said.

He expressed confidence that regardless of Adeleke’s alignment with the APC campaign council, Osun residents would still support the Accord Party in the presidential election.

“So, I still believe that regardless of what Governor Adeleke is doing, Osun people are still going to vote for Accord Party at the presidential election. I can bet on that by the grace of God,” Olawepo-Hashim declared.

When asked whether the inclusion of opposition figures in the APC campaign council reflected political maturity or survival, Olawepo-Hashim dismissed both interpretations.

“No, this is simply indiscipline and rascality,” he said, citing the participation of figures such as Osun Governor Adeleke, Anambra Governor Charles Soludo, and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike in the ruling party’s campaign structure.

To buttress his argument that Osun voters act independently, Olawepo-Hashim recalled the 2011 general election, when he said voters in the state did not follow the political direction of then Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu after the latter allegedly backed the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate instead of the Action Congress of Nigeria’s presidential candidate.

He maintained that the 2027 election would be determined by the performance of the Tinubu administration rather than the political manoeuvres of individual figures. He accused the government of mismanaging the economy, undermining national unity, and worsening insecurity, while showing little compassion for ordinary Nigerians living in poverty.

Olawepo-Hashim also expressed confidence in his own chances, claiming that Tinubu would not secure 20 per cent of the votes if the election were held today.

The political tension within the Accord Party follows earlier internal disputes, including a factional withdrawal of support for Adeleke ahead of the 2026 Osun governorship election and Olawepo-Hashim’s insistence that Adeleke’s actions amounted to disloyalty to the party.