Dr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has emerged as the preferred presidential candidate of the Accord Party (AP) following the successful conduct of the party’s affirmation primaries held across several states of the federation.

The exercise, which recorded a massive turnout of party members and supporters, saw Hashim secure overwhelming affirmative votes, affirming his position as the party’s standard-bearer for the forthcoming presidential election.

Although he was unopposed going into the primaries, the exercise was conducted to allow party faithful to formally endorse his candidature through a democratic affirmation process.

Results received from participating states as of the time of filing this report showed that Hashim garnered a total of 423,902 affirmative votes.

A breakdown of the votes indicated that Jigawa State recorded the highest figure with 198,200 votes, followed by Kano State with 124,101 votes. Nasarawa State delivered 47,309 votes, while Kebbi State returned 46,852 votes.

Other results showed that Kwara State contributed 3,348 votes, while Lagos State recorded 4,548 affirmative votes in support of the candidate.

Party officials described the exercise as peaceful, transparent and reflective of the confidence members have in Olawepo-Hashim’s leadership and vision for the country.

Speaking after the exercise, supporters hailed the outcome as a strong signal of the party’s readiness to mobilise nationwide ahead of the general election, expressing optimism that the Accord Party would offer Nigerians a credible alternative.

They further described Hashim as a bridge builder capable of healing national divisions across North and South, as well as a unifier across religious lines, noting that his emergence represents a potential platform for reconciliation and national cohesion in a politically fragmented country.