Eighteen political parties have signed a Peace Accord in Ondo State, South West Nigeria, pledging to promote a peaceful gubernatorial election and accept the results of the upcoming governorship election scheduled to hold on November 16th.
This significant development aims to ensure a violence-free electoral process.
Chairman of the National Peace Committee, General Abdulsalami Abubakar urged candidates and parties to uphold democratic tenets and reject vote trading.
He emphasised the importance of maintaining the prevailing peaceful atmosphere in the country.
In a goodwill message, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Mahmood Yakubu noted that no security incidents have been reported so far.
He expressed optimism about continued peace and promised improved logistics on election day, encouraging parties to commit to the signed accord.
Professor Mahmood said “Encouraged by the success of the Peace Accord at the national level, the NPC accepted our request to devolve the signing of the Accord beyond the Presidential Election to include off-cycle Governorship Elections in view of the tension and violence before, during and after previous elections”.
He said that for Ondo State, it is the second Peace Accord to be signed by political parties and candidates.
“The first Peace Accord was signed here in Akure at this venue on 6th October 2020.
“I am confident that with the signing of the Peace Accord today, the proactive measures taken by the security agencies, the roles played by our respected traditional rulers, the community and religious leaders, civil society organisations, the mass media and all other stakeholders, the 2024 Ondo State Governorship election will, by the grace of God, be peaceful,” he said.
Election Day Challenge
He assured stakeholders that the commission has taken measures to address election day challenges, especially the perennial challenge of logistics.
The INEC Chairman informed them that in the last few days, he engaged with INEC officials, security agencies and transport service providers in Ondo State to assess their readiness and perfect arrangements for the movement of over 17,000 ad hoc and regular officials as well as large quantities of materials to 4,154 voting and collation locations made up of 3,933 polling units, 203 Ward and 18 LGA collation centres.
“In the case of Ondo State, this task is to be accomplished by boat in the two riverine Local Government Areas of Ese Odo and Ilaje, and by a combination of trucks, four wheel vehicles and motorcycles in respect of the mainland areas of the State. You should therefore expect to see a remarkable improvement in Election Day logistics. Voters in Ondo State should also expect to see similar improvement in result management”.
Prof. Mahmood appealled to political parties and candidates to note that their signatures on the Peace Accord document alone would not guarantee a peaceful election.
“The Peace Accord is not an automated, self-activating document. Your commitment to its implementation is critical. Therefore, as you sign the Peace Accord, you should commit yourselves to its implementation and pass the message to your supporters at all levels for compliance. As I said repeatedly, this is the best way to honour the effort and sacrifice of the Chairman and members of the NPC to peaceful elections in Nigeria,” he explained.
Police Redeployment
The Inspector General of Police, represented by AIG Sylvester Abiodun, assured readiness for the elections, deploying over 36,000 officers to secure all 18 local government areas. This effort will be supplemented by officers from other security agencies, totaling 43,157 personnel.
Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa commended the National Peace Committee’s efforts and pledged to uphold democracy and the peace accord.
He expressed hope that the peaceful atmosphere could be sustained during and after the elections, urging other parties to follow suit.
This peace accord is a crucial step towards ensuring a peaceful electoral process in Nigeria, building on previous successes in reducing election violence.
Confidence Okwuchi
Comments are closed.