An official has stated that the major presidential candidates and parties participating in Nigeria’s upcoming presidential election have breached the Peace Agreement they previously signed.
During the signing of another Peace Accord in Abuja, the Chairman of the National Peace Committee, Abdulsalami Abubakar, expressed his concern about the lack of adherence by major political parties to the National Peace Accord signed in September 2022.
Former military head of state, Mr Abubakar, revealed that 44% of the violations were committed by political party spokespersons, 26% by party members, 19% by the presidential candidates themselves, 11% by hardcore supporters, and 4% by the chairmen of the parties.
Although a total of 18 candidates are participating in the presidential election, the four main contenders are Bola Tinubu of the APC, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP.
The peace accord, supported by the Nigerian government and its international partners, contains provisions that commit candidates and political parties to engage their supporters and ensure a peaceful election process devoid of vices such as hate speech.
Mr Abubakar did not specify which candidates and parties violated the agreement. At the signing event, President Buhari called on all candidates to accept the election results or take their grievances through the appropriate judicial channels.
He reminded the political class and their supporters that INEC is the authorized agency to announce the election results.