Eniola Yekini
The presidential candidate of the Accord Party (AP) in the forthcoming 2027 general elections, Professor Christopher Imumolen, has announced his withdrawal from the race and declared his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, saying the party will mobilise its votes for the incumbent.
Imumolen made the declaration at a press conference in Lagos on Friday, where he said his decision followed consultations with the leadership of the Accord Party and was motivated by what he described as the need to place Nigeria’s national interest above personal political ambition.
According to him, Tinubu’s reform agenda and policy direction align substantially with the objectives contained in the Accord Party’s manifesto, particularly in the areas of economic transformation, education, youth empowerment, entrepreneurship and industrialisation.
“President Tinubu’s reform agenda and policy closely align with our core objective and our manifesto,” Imumolen said, adding that the administration’s ability to take difficult economic and political decisions convinced him that the President deserved an opportunity to continue his programmes.
The former presidential candidate, who said he campaigned against Tinubu in 2023, also praised the President for what he described as his capacity to take difficult decisions, manage Nigeria’s complex political landscape and empower young Nigerians through appointments to strategic positions.
Imumolen further argued that continuity and policy consistency were necessary to sustain ongoing reforms, attract investment, create jobs and strengthen national institutions.
He urged Nigerians not to be swayed by politicians making promises to solve insecurity and other national challenges within unrealistic timelines.
He stressed that the decision was not the collapse of Accord into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), explaining that the party would retain its candidates and structures for governorship and other elections across the states. He said the party’s support was specifically for Tinubu at the presidential level.
“We are not collapsing our structure for APC generally. We are only saying that for president, we are working for him,” Imumolen said, insisting that Accord had taken the decision early and transparently before the commencement of the 2027 campaign season.
He said the party had previously supported candidates outside its fold, citing its support for Abia State Governor Alex Otti, a member of the Labour Party, as evidence that its latest decision was based on what it considered the national interest rather than partisan considerations.