Osun Accord Party Rift Worsens as Parallel Primary Produces Bamigbola Days After Adeleke’s Emergence

The leadership crisis within the Accord Party in Osun State took a new turn on Sunday following the emergence of Clement Bamigbola as a factional governorship candidate, just 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 party’s candidate after a primary election organised by the national leadership of the Accord Party. However, the process was immediately challenged by a faction of the party, which rejected Adeleke’s nomination on the grounds that Barrister Maxwell Ngbudem, who conducted the primary, is not the legally recognised National Chairman of the party.

Amid the controversy, about 300 delegates drawn from various parts of Osun State on Sunday convened at Regina Suite, Osogbo, where they conducted a parallel primary and elected Bamigbola as their candidate.

Bamigbola reportedly emerged through a voice vote, after which the Chairman of the factional Primary Election Committee, Hon. Olufemi Ogundare, declared him winner of the exercise. He was subsequently presented with the party’s flag by leaders of the faction, signifying his adoption as its governorship candidate.

The emergence of a factional candidate has further deepened the internal turmoil in the party, which escalated last week following the suspension of Accord Party National Chairman, Maxwell Ngbudem.

Ngbudem, who presided over Adeleke’s unopposed primary on December 10, was reportedly suspended on November 14, 2025, a development that has raised questions over the legitimacy of the process that produced the incumbent governor as the party’s candidate.

The crisis has also triggered allegations and counter-allegations involving the All Progressives Congress (APC). Earlier on Sunday, the Osun State leadership of the Accord Party accused the APC of attempting to instigate chaos by sponsoring an illegal parallel primary to undermine Adeleke’s candidacy.

In a statement, the Osun State Chairman of the Accord Party, Pastor Victor Akande, said the alleged plot was designed to create confusion and destabilise the party.

He described the move as a calculated attempt by the APC, which he said is struggling internally and threatened by what he termed the growing popularity and widespread acceptance of Governor Adeleke, popularly known as Imole, across the state.

According to Akande, Adeleke’s defection to and adoption by the Accord Party has further strengthened his political base and heightened public support for him ahead of the 2026 election.

“The APC is sponsoring one of its card-carrying members to pose as an Accord Party aspirant in order to create crisis within our party and the state,” Akande alleged.

He stressed that the Accord Party is law-abiding and committed to democratic principles, insisting that only primaries conducted by the party’s legally recognised national leadership are valid.

Akande called on security agencies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other relevant authorities to take note of what he described as a deliberate attempt to disrupt peace in Osun State.

Reacting, the APC dismissed the accusations. The party’s Director of Media, Chief Kola Olabisi, said the party was not involved in the internal affairs of Accord Party.

“We conducted our primary yesterday and successfully produced our candidate. We are not aware of any other party’s primary,” Olabisi said.

As the leadership tussle persists, uncertainty continues to surround the Accord Party’s participation in the 2026 Osun governorship election, with the crisis showing no immediate signs of abating.