On Tuesday evening, the 18 presidential candidates of Nigeria’s upcoming general election signed a second peace accord in Abuja, the capital of the country. The pact was organized by the National Peace Committee and the Kukah Leadership Centre, an Abuja-based think tank, and was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari and other African and international leaders and diplomats. The agreement is meant to ensure “the conduct of free, fair, credible, transparent and verifiable elections cognisant of the need to maintain a peaceful environment before, during and after the 2023 general elections” and “to place national interest above personal and partisan concerns”.
The signing was a response to the numerous violations of the first peace accord, which was signed in September 2022 and was chaired by former military head of state and retired general Abdusalam Abubakar. According to Abubakar, 44 percent of the violations were carried out by the spokespersons for political parties, 26 percent by party members, 19 percent by the presidential candidates themselves, 11 percent by the hardcore supporters and four percent by the chairmen of the parties.
Saturday’s race to succeed Buhari is being closely contested by 18 candidates, with four generally accepted to be top contenders. These include the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu; Nigeria’s former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP); Labour Party’s Peter Obi; and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
The signing was attended by domestic and international stakeholders to monitor for potential violence. Among them were members of observer missions from the African Union, European Union and the Commonwealth, as well as former presidents Thabo Mbeki, Joyce Banda, Uhuru Kenyatta, John Mahama and Ernest Bai Koroma from South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Ghana and Sierra Leone respectively. Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote and Patricia Scott, secretary-general of the Commonwealth and a representative of the United Nations secretary-general were also present.
President Buhari urged all the contestants to have faith in the legal systems and reminded all Nigerians that “this is the only country we have and we must do everything to keep it safe, united and peaceful”. He added that any grievances should be channelled to the relevant courts instead of resorting to riots or acts of violence after the announcement of election results. Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, said that preparations for the election are well underway with ballot papers and other materials being moved to polling units nationwide. He added that by Friday they will activate registration area centres so that polling units will open on time on Saturday.
The signing of this second peace accord is a crucial step towards ensuring a peaceful election in Nigeria. It is hoped that all parties involved will abide by their commitment to maintain peace before, during and after the general elections.