The presidential candidates of 18 political parties in Nigeria have signed a peace accord in Abuja.

Present at the signing of the peace accord were members of the National Peace Committee and President Muhammadu Buhari.

Some of the presidential candidates present at the event were Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC), among others.

The peace past was organised and coordinated by the National Accord for Peace under the chairmanship of former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (Retd).

The pact entails that all political parties accept the outcome of the elections or to seek legitimate means of redress in the event of divergent positions.

Abubakar stressed at the peace accord signing the need for all parties to stay committed to the second peace accord, saying some of them flouted the first peace accord signed on September 29, 2022.

“There was lack of compliance by the major political parties.

“44 per cent of the violations were carried out by spokespersons of the political parties and 26 per cent by party members.

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“19 per cent of the violations were carried out by the presidential candidates themselves; 11 per cent by hard-core supporters and 4 per cent by party chairmen.

“Additionally, in January 2023, a lot of violence has occurred with at least 15 abductions (including that of a police officer) and at least, 30 killings (including those of 11 security personnel),” he said.

Abubakar noted that campaign rallies were also not free of attacks, saying: “There were at least six attacks at political campaign rallies.

“In December 2022, INEC said it recorded 50 attacks on its offices between 2019 and 2022.

“According to data released by INEC, there were 11 attacks on its offices in Imo, seven attacks in Osun, five each in Enugu State and Akwa Ibom.

“In each of Ebonyi, Abia, and Cross River, there were four attacks on INEC offices; two attacks each in Anambra and Taraba, and one attack each in Kaduna State, Borno, Bayelsa, Ondo State, Lagos State, and Ogun.

“As a nation, we have got to put a stop to all of these. That is why on January 20, 2022, we convened a meeting of all presidential candidates and party chairmen.

“The meeting discussed existing and emerging issues regarding the ways campaigns were being conducted, and the need for parties to moderate their views,” the former Head of State stated.

Present at the signing of the second peace accord were President Muhammadu Buhari, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu,  and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba.

International election observers present included Baroness Scotland, and former President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya leading the African Union Observation Mission.

Others were former President Thambo Mbeki of South Africa leading the Commonwealth Observer group, and former President Joyce Banda of Malawi, among others.

The Star