Those who know are certain that a few shocks will be served in the upcoming elections as some parties, rightly or wrongly, regarded by many as unknown will steal from the shadows of obscurity into the glare of the klieglights.
And talking about small parties who could cause a few upsets and redefine the once rigid political order, Accord party comes to mind.
With a pan-Nigerian outlook. Accord, the party that flaunts ‘oneness and progress” as its motto has regularly achieved significant landmarks in a choked political space.
It may not have been as heralded as its more famous rivals, but Accord has been known to constantly pull its weight across several states in the country.
Accord beat all other comers to third place in the last Bayelsa State gubernatorial elections that brought in current governor, Douye Diri, while in Oyo State, it has been placed even ahead visibly of APC and PDP.
To maintain almost a number one position with Adelabu as it’s Gubernatorial Candidate.
As a matter of fact, Shina Peller, a member of the Federal House of Representatives who is a staunch member of the Accord party hails from Oyo State.
In Rivers State, Accord is just as prominent with Chief Lulu Briggs pulling the strings and putting the likes of the APC and PDP on their toes.
In the FCT Abuja, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Lagos, Osun and Edo States, Accord is very much on ground.
Just as it was in Bayelsa, Accord performed beyond expectations in the last Osun State gubernatorial polls. The party was so good that it finished ahead the Labour Party in the race.
In Lagos, Hon. Kaku Aare is a crowd puller with thousands of followers who believe in the Accord party ethos.
Accord Party has a very strong grip in about 12 States in Nigeria .
THE IMUMOLEN IMPACT
While the Labour Party may be largely popular on social media, it has so far not been able to present convincing evidence of its national spread.
That it has yet to test its popularity in a proper elections like the presidential elections largely detracts from its somewhat rarefied profile.
Now, how does these permutations favour the candidature of their respective presidential candidates?
Peter Obi has tried to downplay the important role having a structure could play in how far he goes in his quest for the presidency, but for the discerning followers, it is not something to be wished away as it is a critical cornerstone of a successful presidential bid.
It is in this wise, he could be outdone by the Accord party, which even though does not boast of a house-full of fanatical social media adherents, has steadily built a grassroots support base over the years.
Apart from quietly working its way into reckon, Accord’s chances of toppling Obi’s Labour Party is now even more enhanced with the choice of the candidate they endorsed for the presidency.
Making Professor Christopher Imumolen its choice to run with 17 others in the race for the country’s presidency appears the best decision Accord ever made in its chequered history.
As the youngest candidate in the race, Professor Imumolen comes with an impressive CV of accomplishments in social entrepreneurship and humanitarian works.
He is from Edo State and therefore represents the South South interest in the race. This is bound to count for something on election day.
Then, he has over 500,000 students who have benefited immensely from his scholarships initiatives. He also has millions of others-women, youth and farmers-who have benefited from his loans and skill acquisition/vocational trainings over the last 15 years.
Then, he has millions of others in communities in which he has either single-handedly electrified, given roads or sunk boreholes for the supply of pipe borne water, all at personal expense at various times in the recent past.
Add that to an NGO he owns with a membership strength of over 4million, and it can fully be appreciated what value Imumolen brings to the Accord party ahead of this much hyped elections.
And if you thought that it is only Obi who has sympathy of the christian community of whom to cast their votes, then you had better think again because Imumolen is just as appealing to that section of the electorate.
His philantropism has never been known to be partial as it has been beneficial to both christians and muslims.
The full extent of Imumolen’s chances in the forthcoming general elections can be better appreciated when viewed from his recent landmark achievement in an independent poll organised by @Nigeria Decides.
In the said polls, the 39-year old stormed to third place, knocking former Kano State governor, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso to 4th place behind the APC, PDP and the Labour Party.
That performance has since shot his ratings in the eyes of the electorate, sky-high. It is possible that the young professor could do even more in an election which is not going to be decided by respondents in a poll but by actual voters.
Little wonder many a political observer at home and in the diaspora concluded that Prof Christopher Imumolen has become a raging force, and the soft swift wind of national redemption currently sweeping through the nooks and cranny of the Nigerian nation.
Emeagi Emeka Williams is the Editor of Timeswatch News Magazine.
emekaopium74@gmail.com/ 07037358259
