Ahead of the 2027 general elections, on Tuesday political parties, presidential and National Assembly candidates signed the National Peace Accord, committing to shun hate speech, violence, personal attacks and any other act that could negatively affect the electoral process.
The peace accord was signed at a ceremony in Abuja organised by the National Peace Committee, led by former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar in collaboration with The Kukah Centre.
Those present were the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan; the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin; political party leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), Social Democratic Party (SDP); and representatives of the diplomatic community, among other stakeholders.
Those who signed the accord included presidential candidates President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume; the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi; the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Adewole Adebayo; and the African Action Congress (AAC) candidate, Omoyele Sowore.
Others were the presidential candidates of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, and the Labour Party, Chibuzor Okereke, while those noticeably absent included former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM).
Speaking through the SGF, President Tinubu said, “Signing this peace accord is a solemn pledge to the Nigerian people that we, as leaders, will put the nation’s interests above personal or partisan ambitions.
“It is natural during campaigns to disagree as opponents and advocate competing governing missions for our country. We may exchange occasional political jabs, but as members of the same household, the same national family, we must never resort to divisive and primordial sentiments of ethnicity or religion as tools for seeking power.
“Let us campaign on superior ideas. Let us debate issues and promote the best policies to expand opportunities for our people.
“Our party rejects violence, hate speech, the spread of misinformation, including through artificial intelligence, and all forms of incitement, especially via social media.
“We are committed to peaceful, transparent elections that will strengthen political stability, social harmony, economic progress, and our nation’s prosperity. I encourage other political parties and political actors to do the same.’’
