Accord Party on Tuesday denied the claim by a governorship candidate in the last governorship election in Ondo State, Mr. Olawale Ojo, that he was a candidate for the party.
The party also said it accepted the result of the October 20 governorship election in the state and, therefore, would not engage in any court case against Governor Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party.
Ojo, who claimed that he was contesting on the platform of the Accord Party in the election, was said to have been disqualified by the Independent National Electoral Commission before the October 20 governorship election in the state.
Consequently, he joined candidates of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), and the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Dr. Olusola Oke, to drag Mimiko to the Election Petitions Tribunal.
However, Accord Party, in a statement by its National Secretary, Mr. Nureni Adisa, on Tuesday said Ojo was “unknown to the party” and could, therefore, not claim to represent a party in which he was an alien.
The statement said Ojo organised “a kangaroo governorship primary” and informed INEC about 24 hours to the election, a move, which was allegedly rejected by the electoral body on the grounds of non-compliance with law.
The statement stated, “Accord Party had suspected that the orchestration of a clandestine plan by Ojo and others was in the offing, wondering how Ojo, who could not pay the mandatory N1.2m nomination fee, would be able to raise money to run for the election.
“Accord is not engaged in any court case in Ondo State based on the just concluded governorship election. The man is on his own and has no locus standi to initiate a court action on behalf of the party.
“Our stand is that the people’s choice has been duly elected and we will not take part in any move to scuttle our fledgling democracy. Accord, like any other serious party, has its rules as laid down by the Electoral Act.”