Presidential aspirant of the Accord Party (AP), Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has alleged that there are deliberate efforts by influential figures to weaken opposition platforms and prevent the emergence of credible challengers to the ruling party in the 2027 presidential election.
In a strongly worded statement issued ahead of Saturday’s presidential primary election of the AP, Hashim said Nigeria is gradually sliding back to the “dark days” of the late General Sani Abacha era.
He accused powerful political forces of attempting to cripple opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Nigeria is being dragged back to the Abacha years,” he said.
Hashim accused a top chieftain of the AP of allegedly orchestrating internal manoeuvres aimed at destabilising the party and frustrating its ability to field a presidential candidate.
According to him, the development bears striking similarities to the political climate during the Abacha era, when all registered political parties were aligned behind a single power structure.
“We are seeing a replay of history when political parties became tools for a self succession agenda,” he said.
“This coordinated plot by top officials will fail, just as the Abacha agenda failed,” Hashim stated.
He further accused the political establishment of systematically weakening opposition parties through what he described as “manipulative legal and political strategies.”
According to him, the process included the destabilisation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the enactment of a “self serving and obnoxious” Electoral Act, and the failure of some of its promoters to comply with the same provisions before aspects of the law were challenged in court.
“They weakened the opposition, wrote the rules to favour themselves, and still refused to play by those rules,” he alleged.
Despite the internal crisis within the AP, Hashim maintained that the party’s presidential primary would hold as scheduled.
“The presidential primary of the Accord Party is scheduled for Saturday, May 30. We are prepared to participate, and by the Grace of God, it will hold,” he said.
Hashim vowed that pro democracy forces in the country would resist any attempt to undermine democratic values and political plurality.
“We shall not be discouraged. We shall not be intimidated. We fought for democracy, and by the Grace of God, we will defend it,” he said.
2027: Olawepo-Hashim accuses powerful forces of undermining opposition parties
