By Israel Jagunmolu,
The people of Osun State should not waste their votes on Governor Ademola Adeleke because, according to Prof. Chris Imumolen, the factional National Chairman of the Accord Party, Adeleke’s political future is heading toward defeat — either at the polls or through the ongoing legal battle over the leadership of the Accord Party.
Prof. Chris Imumolen has expressed strong confidence that Governor Ademola Adeleke will lose the Osun election, stressing that he does not believe Adeleke has what it takes to prevail at the polls.
However, Imumolen’s confidence goes beyond the ballot box.
According to the factional National Chairman of Accord Party, even if Adeleke surprisingly succeeds at the polls, the ongoing Accord Party leadership case before the Federal High Court in Abuja will provide the legal pathway through which his political position can ultimately be defeated.
The pending case involving the Adeleke-aligned Accord faction is progressing well, and Prof. Imumolen has expressed confidence that the court will soon deliver a favourable judgment.
“We are expecting victory in the judgment very soon,” Prof. Imumolen stated.
The recent legal developments surrounding the Accord Party leadership dispute have further strengthened the confidence of the Imumolen-led faction. Following the Court of Appeal proceedings involving the competing Accord factions, the matter is now before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
For Prof. Imumolen and his supporters, the case is not merely an internal party disagreement. It concerns the legitimate leadership and structure of Accord Party* and the legal authority of the recognised party structure to operate and exercise its political mandate.
This is why Prof. Imumolen maintains that Adeleke cannot escape the consequences of the Accord leadership battle simply by winning an election.
If Adeleke loses at the polls, the people of Osun will have rejected him.
But if he manages to win something Prof. Imumolen considers highly doubtful the political consequences of the Accord leadership case could still prove decisive.
The message from the Imumolen camp is therefore straightforward:
“Adeleke will lose at the polls. And if, against all expectations, he wins, the Accord leadership case will ultimately defeat him in court.”
Prof. Chris Imumolen, the factional National Chairman of the Accord Party, and his supporters remain confident that the judicial process will vindicate their position and establish the legitimate leadership structure of the party.
As the political contest in Osun intensifies, the people should therefore look beyond political propaganda and understand the wider legal and political realities surrounding the election.
Adeleke’s challenge is not only the ballot box. The Accord leadership case remains a major legal battle, and Prof. Chris Imumolen is confident that victory in that case will have decisive political consequences for Adeleke.
Israel Jagunmolu is a Chieftain of the Accord Party. He writes from Lagos.
