Adisa Oladele
30th May, 2026
Political parties are not mere platforms for individual ambition; they are institutions built on rules, hierarchy, and collective will. The recent disturbance surrounding the Accord Party’s primary process in Iwo Federal Constituency is therefore more than a local skirmish, it is a troubling reminder of what happens when personal ambition is allowed to override party supremacy. After a clear resolution by the Accord leadership to return all sitting lawmakers through a consensus arrangement, the party moved to affirm that decision in line with its constitution and established practice. Consensus was reached, candidates were announced, and the remaining process was meant to be a formality. Instead, it became a theatre of avoidable tension.
Reports from the primary venue indicate that the affirmation exercise was disrupted by violence allegedly sponsored by an aggrieved aspirant, Mr Deji Bello, who chose confrontation over compliance. In defying a decision reached by party organs, he was reportedly aided by associates including the sitting Vice Chairman of Iwo LG, Hon. Sefiu Apesin and a member of Iwo LGEA Board, Hon. Lukman Salimonu etc in perpetrating actions that unsettled party members and threatened public peace in Iwoland. The event was meant to be an affirmation programme where selected party leaders; two from each wards will be joined by top functionaries to affirm the decision of the party. To the dismay of everyone, Deji brought hoodlums to disrupt the process. They took over the hall until security operatives sent them away.
This is not merely an internal disagreement; it is an assault on constitutional process within the party, one that undermines internal democracy by rejecting agreed mechanisms when outcomes do not favour personal interest. It is pertinent to question the education of Deji and his co-travelers at this point. Before an aspirant is deemed accepted for a primary election, he must have gone through the nomination process of the party. He must have obtained form, filled and submitted same. After this, he will be screened - in. Which of these processes did Deji go through? He never did any. He's been focused on feeding his supporters lies.
Nigeria’s political history offers a sharp contrast. In the First and Second Republics, and even in the formative years of the Fourth, party supremacy was treated as sacrosanct. Leaders and aspirants understood that once a party spoke through its recognized organs, individual ambitions were subordinated to collective decisions. Discipline was enforced not to stifle dissent, but to preserve order. Those who defied party decisions faced sanctions. Suspensions, expulsions, or disqualification from future contests. The result was predictability, stability, and a measure of ideological coherence that today’s politics sorely lacks.
Accord now stands at such a crossroads in Osun. If indiscipline is indulged, it risks setting a precedent where the loudest or most disruptive voices dictate outcomes. The party must therefore act decisively but fairly. A transparent disciplinary process is essential. Immediate suspension of the individuals involved pending investigation; withdrawal of party privileges if culpability is established; and, where necessary. Such measures are not vindictive, they are corrective. They send a clear message that while ambition is legitimate, disorder is not; that protest is a right, but violence and disruption are intolerable.
Ultimately, the lesson from Iwo Federal Constituency is simple and urgent. Political parties survive on discipline, not indulgence. When rules are bent for a few, institutions weaken for all. Accord, like every serious political organization, must reaffirm that no individual, however connected or ambitious, is bigger than the party or the peace of the community it seeks to govern.
Adisa Oladele is a lover of Adeleke administration and an Accord member from Iwo
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