By Hassan Turaki
The Hashim Progressives Movement, HPM, has condemned what it described as a plot to undermine the mandate of Accord Party members and reaffirmed Dr. Gbenga Olawepo Hashim as the party’s sole and legitimate presidential candidate.
The position was made known on Monday during a press conference held at Sahaba Hall, close to the Train Station in Rigasa, Kaduna.
The briefing was addressed by HPM North West Zonal Coordinator, Comrade Bashir Muhammad Goje Alade, and Zonal Women Leader, Ambassador Aisha Ya’u Ibrahim.
They said they spoke on behalf of Accord Party members who converged from the seven North West states: Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Jigawa.
According to them, the members came with one voice and an unshakable resolve to defend the outcome of the party’s primaries.
Goje Alade alleged that “unscrupulous elements” within and outside the party were engaged in a desperate plot to sell out the mandate freely given by party members.
He said the agenda was to deny Accord the benefit of a tested, credible, and nationally acceptable presidential candidate.
The HPM coordinator declared without equivocation that Dr. Gbenga Olawepo Hashim remains the only legal, legitimate, and solid presidential candidate of the Accord Party. He noted that Hashim purchased the party’s nomination and expression of interest forms and participated fully in the primaries.
He added that Hashim emerged victorious in strict compliance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act, and the Accord Party Constitution.
Any attempt at substitution or backdoor manipulation, he warned, would be rejected outright by the party base.
Goje Alade stressed that delegates and members who voted across the 186 local government areas of the North West did so with full knowledge, conviction, and loyalty to Hashim.
He said that mandate cannot be auctioned, hijacked, or traded by a few self-serving individuals.
The HPM leaders condemned, in the strongest terms, all clandestine meetings aimed at undermining the outcome of the Accord presidential primaries.
They also rejected any move to present an alternative candidate in violation of due process and the expressed will of party members.
They further cautioned against any attempt to weaponize impunity against internal democracy within the party.
According to them, the North West, being the largest voting bloc in Nigeria, is watching and will not allow sacrifices to be reduced to a commodity for political merchants.
The group called on the Accord National Working Committee, INEC, security agencies, and all lovers of democracy to uphold the rule of law and ensure that Hashim’s mandate is protected.
They described him as the only candidate with the national reach, integrity, and vision to reposition Nigeria.
In their closing remarks, the HPM leaders urged North West members to remain calm, united, and loyal.
They affirmed that their support and allegiance stand solidly with Dr. Gbenga Olawepo Hashim – “the people’s choice, the party’s choice, and Nigeria’s choice”.
