Accord Party: We’ll win Edo governorship election… we’re optimistic

The Accord Party (AP) says Iyere Kennedy, its standard-bearer in Edo, will win the governorship election in the state.

Addressing journalists on Monday after a meeting of the national working committee (NWC) in Abuja, Maxwell Mgbudem, chair of AP, said the party is prepared for the election.

“We are determined to build a better Nigeria. The future of Accord is bright. We shall make it brighter and glorious. Let us move forward together and make Nigeria great again,” he said.

“This will start with the Edo state governorship election coming up this weekend. Accord is prepared for the poll and commends political parties that have endorsed the party’s governorship candidate.

“The party is optimistic to win the Edo gubernatorial election this Saturday and urges eligible voters in the state to come out en masse and vote for Accord.

“The party also urges INEC to provide a level playing field to all the political parties and their candidates participating in the election.

“Nigerians demand a free, fair, credible, transparent, inclusive and peaceful governorship election. INEC must ensure that its BVAS and IReV portals are functional.

“Every vote must be counted and should count in the overall result. The mandate of the people must be respected by all stakeholders.

“In one accord, we shall build and deepen democracy in Nigeria and foster sustainable development that will boost citizens’ standards of living. A vote for Accord will transform this nation. Join us to build a prosperous Nigeria.”

The Edo governorship election is scheduled for September 21.

PARTY CRISIS

Speaking on the internal wrangling in the party, Mgbudem claimed that Christopher Imumolen, AP’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, imposed himself as the national chairman without an election.

He alleged that Imumolen misled a federal high court in the federal capital territory (FCT) to grant an ex parte order in his favour to stay as national chairman.

Mgbudem said on September 2, the leadership of the party filed a motion with the suit no FCT/HC/M/11850/2024 before M. M. Adamu, a judge at the federal high court, who ordered that status quo be maintained pending the outcome of the motion on notice.

He said the court also ordered Imumolen and “his co-travellers” to vacate the office of the party “which they forcefully took over” on August 31.

“With these clear and unambiguous orders of the court, prof Christopher Imumolen and his co-travellers were ejected out of the party national secretariat which they forcefully entered,” Mgbudem said.

“Today, it is instructive to inform persons misled by the unfortunate event that the authentic leadership of the party is led by Barrister Maxwell Mgbudem as national chairman and is absolutely in control of our great party.”

He said the “minor distraction” in the affairs of the party is over, adding that the NWC remains focused towards positioning the AP for victory in future elections.

“We need to emphasize that the unity and oneness of the party is sacrosanct. We shall not allow external factors and political jobbers to distract and disintegrate us as a party. We call on all members to be resilient and maintain the peace that exists in Accord,” he said.