According to a report by Vanguard on Thursday, May 28, 2026, Accord Party chieftain and former presidential candidate, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has alleged that influential figures within President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s political camp are plotting to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections. In a statement issued before the Accord Party presidential primary fixed for May 30, Olawepo-Hashim warned that the country was gradually returning to what he described as the repressive political atmosphere experienced during the era of former military ruler Sani Abacha.
He claimed that efforts were being made to destabilise opposition platforms and frustrate credible challengers to the ruling establishment. According to him, the situation reflected the Abacha years when political structures allegedly served the interests of a single power bloc. Olawepo-Hashim also accused a chieftain of the Accord Party of attempting to create internal disunity within the party to prevent it from fielding a presidential candidate in 2027.
“This coordinated plot by top officials will fail, just as the Abacha agenda failed,” he declared.
The former presidential candidate further criticised what he described as manipulative legal and political tactics allegedly being deployed against opposition parties. He referenced the internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party and faulted aspects of the Electoral Act, which he described as self-serving. He argued that some political actors who promoted the law later failed to comply with its provisions before challenging sections of it in court.
Despite the internal tensions within the Accord Party, Olawepo-Hashim maintained that the party’s presidential primary would go ahead as scheduled on May 30. He insisted that democratic forces would continue to resist any attempt to suppress political plurality or undermine democratic values in the country.
