By Obinna Uballa
The internal crisis rocking the Accord Party in Osun State has escalated following the emergence of Clement Bamigbola as a factional governorship candidate, barely four days after Governor Ademola Adeleke was announced as the party’s flag-bearer for the 2026 governorship election.
Governor Adeleke had, on Wednesday, emerged unopposed as the Accord Party’s candidate after a primary election conducted by the party’s national leadership. However, a faction of the party immediately rejected the process, arguing that Barrister Maxwell Ngbudem, who presided over the primary, is not the legally recognised National Chairman of the party.
In a fresh twist on Sunday, about 300 delegates drawn from across Osun State reportedly elected Bamigbola as the faction’s candidate during a parallel primary held at Regina Suite, Osogbo.
Bamigbola emerged through a voice vote, after which the Chairman of the factional Primary Election Committee, Hon. Olufemi Ogundare, announced him as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2026 Osun State election. Ogundare, alongside other factional leaders, subsequently presented the party’s flag to Bamigbola.
The development has further compounded the crisis within the Accord Party, which erupted last week following the suspension of its National Chairman, Maxwell Ngbudem. The suspension, which reportedly took effect on November 14, 2025, has cast fresh uncertainty over Governor Adeleke’s governorship bid.
Ngbudem had conducted Adeleke’s unopposed primary on December 10, and his removal has fuelled speculation that internal party forces may be seeking to undermine the governor’s newly secured ticket.
Amid the unfolding crisis, the Accord Party leadership in Osun State earlier accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to orchestrate an illegal parallel primary to destabilise the party following Adeleke’s emergence as its candidate.
Reacting in a statement, the Osun State Chairman of the Accord Party, Pastor Victor Akande, alleged that the plan was aimed at sowing “seeds of disunity, confusion and chaos in the state in the name of our party.”
Akande described the alleged move as a desperate tactic by the APC, which he said is grappling with internal challenges in the face of what he termed the growing popularity, acceptance and goodwill enjoyed by Governor Adeleke, popularly known as Imole, across Osun State.
According to him, Adeleke’s declaration for and affiliation with the Accord Party has further boosted public support for the governor throughout the state.
He maintained that the APC’s alleged actions were driven by its inability to match the political momentum and grassroots support commanded by Adeleke, forcing the opposition to resort to “clandestine tactics.”
“APC is sponsoring one of their card-carrying members to pose as an aspirant of the Accord Party in a bid to create crisis in our party and the state at large,” Akande alleged.
“We are a law-abiding, democratic and peace-loving political party. Only processes recognised by the appropriate national leadership of the party are valid. Any primary or aspirant outside this process is invalid, null and void,” he said.
Akande further urged security agencies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other relevant authorities to be alert to what he described as a plot to disrupt public peace in Osun State.
In its response, the APC dismissed the allegations. The party’s Director of Media, Chief Kola Olabisi, said the APC had successfully conducted its own primary election and was not concerned with the internal affairs of other parties.
“We held our primary yesterday and successfully picked our candidate. We are not aware of any other political party’s primary,” Olabisi said.
