By Lateef Adegbite
Ahead of the February 25, 2023, Presidential elections in Nigeria, the National Peace Committee, NPC, led by General Abudulsalami Abubakar, rtd, a former Nigeria Head of State, were said to have met with various stakeholders including INEC, officials and Heads of the various security and intelligence agencies to solicit their support to ensure a smooth conduct of the elections.
The Heads of the various security agencies, particular, the military and the Nigerian Police Force, NPF, may have gladdened the heart of the NPC, officials as they were said to have reassured the Committee of their preparedness’’ to conduct the polls creditably’’. Gen. Abubakar, the NPC, Chairman, may have given his words ‘’to ensure that all political actors live up to expectations’’.
This is evident going his moves at ensuring that all the 18, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, registered political parties Presidential Candidates, who have scaled through the INEC, hurdles to contest the 2023, Presidential elections on February 25, 2023, sign a peace accord to forestall violence during the elections.
On Friday, September 30, 2022, 15, out of the 18, Presidential Candidates of the political parties, jostling to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari, of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, after the 2023, general elections were said to have appended their signature to the peace accord document in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
. Mathew Kukah, a Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese and a member of Gen. Abubakar, rtd, led NPC, had confirmed the number but said Abdullahi, Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa state and a Senator of Federal Republic of Nigeria and who incidentally is the APC, National Chairman, had signed the Peace accord document on behalf Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the APC, Presidential Candidate for the 2023, general elections, who wasabsent.
TAlthough, Kashim Shetima, a former governor of Borno state, and Tinubu, Vice Presidential Candidate was cited at the events center but Senator Adamu, the party National Chairman took the bold initiative to ,sign the peace accord on behalf of Tinubu, fueling speculations making the rounds that APC, has a hidden agenda.
The APC, Presidential Candidate may not have been the only party Candidate that was absent at the Peace Accord signing ceremony. That much was confirmed by Bishop Kukah who had revealed that three other Political Parties’ Presidential Candidates did not show up as well due to various reasons.
In signing the peace accord, Gen. Abubakar, rtd, had appealed to the 18 political Parties , and their Presidential Candidates to commit ‘’to issues-based campaigns avoid spreading fake news and misinformation that are already creating toxic environment and subsequently threatening the peace of the country and causing more damage to the system’’
In his nation-wide broadcast on Saturday, October 1, 2022, the Katsina state born Nigerian President, who had said that the broadcast would be his last on an independence Day as Nigerian President had reechoed the call of Gen. Abubakar, rtd, the NPC, Chairman to all those seeking elective offices ‘’to conduct issues-based campaigns devoid of hate speeches as well as other negative and divisive tendencies.
The Katsina state born Nigerian President may have stressed the importance of signing the peace accord by the various Political parties President Presidential Candidates on Thursday, September 29, 2022, when he disclosed that signing such peace accord with former President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP, and other Presidential Candidates in the build up to the 2015 general elections contributed largely to the peaceful outcome of the polls.
The Nigerian President , who was said to have received members of the NPC, at the Presidential Villa, at the FCT, was said to have urged all the Political Parties Presidential Candidates : Atiku Abubakar,a former Vice President, during Olusegun Obsanjo’s Administration and Presidential Candidate of the main leading opposition PDP, Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state and Labour Party, Touch bearer, including the other 16 Presidential Candidates jostling to take over from him after the 2023, general elections ‘’to abide by the content and spirit of the election’’.
He had said that signing the peace accord by all the political parties Flag bearers for the 2023, general elections, was basically ‘’ aimed at committing the parties , aspirants and their supporters to conduct their Campaigns in a peaceful manner, devoid of ethnic , religious and hate speeches that could mar he upcoming elections’’.
The President may have sent a message to those who may want to exploit the loopholes in the 2021, electoral act to rig the election to think of other things to do as they may never succeed. He was said to have made to understand ‘’that ‘’credible, free and fair elections can only be achieved in a peaceful environment’’, noting that the signing of the electoral act 2021, as amended with’’ its landmark provisions underlie his government resolve to guarantee ‘’a transparent and all-inclusive electoral process in the 2023 and future elections in the country’’.
He asserted that the gains of the 2021, electoral act, have begun to be felt in the conduct of transparent, credible and freedom of choice with people’s voting votes actually counting, citing the recent elections in the past two years in the south east state of Anambra and south west states of Ekiti and Osun, including a few Federal Constituencies.
He has vowed that whatever mistakes that had been identified in the conduct of the Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states governorship elections, ‘’would be improved upon as the country moves towards the 2023, general elections’’. The Nigerian President had alluded to the fact that ‘’having witnessed at close quarters the pains, anguish and disappointment of being victim of an unfair electoral process, the pursuit of an electoral system and processes that would guarantee election of Leaders by the electorate remains the guiding light to wind down his administration’’ in the next five months.
In his nationwide broadcast on October 1, 2022, had said that no matter what gains the country may have h made over the last two years in the signed Electoral Act but ‘’without good governance system anchored on electing credible leaders on the basis of free, fair , credible and transparent elections, all the efforts would be in vain’’.
Notwithstanding, the efforts of members of the NPC, to ensure that the 2023, general elections would be conducted in a peaceful atmosphere, Mathew Kukah, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese, Sokoto, had said that ‘’Nigerian’s political elites have not shown any commitment to the rules of the game’’ as laid down by INEC.
Appearing on Channels Television on Friday, September 30, 2022, Bishop Kukah, had called on the aspirants seeking the office of the President of Nigeria and other elective offices ranging from the Senate, House of Representatives, to States to the states Houses of Assembly ‘’to show accountability and display sportsmanship in accepting electoral results instead heading to Court to challenge results announced by the INEC, after the conduct of the elections.
Bishop Kukah, who could not hide his feelings had said that the trouble in the nation’s political scene, has become more pronounced in the recent time because they are ‘’too many who see politics as a transaction’.’ A. He had imagined how a Presidential aspirant could cough out N100 million naira to be able to buy a nomination form to contest one of the Pparties Presidential primary last June. He may have alluded to the ruling APC.
He had described the huge amount of money that the party Presidential aspirants were asked to pay just like going ‘’ to watch a match or going to the night club ‘’. He had queried that if a party could charge that much fee to buy its Presidential nomination form to contest the primary, what would happen if the person is eventually elected into office after the 2023, general elections.
He may have instances given instances of what took place in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states, where where there were reported cases of ‘’vote buying and so on’’. This may have informed why he had passed a verdict that ‘’the country’s democracy was far below par as compared to what obtains in Kenya, that had made lots of mistakes in the past but have had elected more than five Presidents since December 13, 63 and other African nations’’. He was emphatic that ‘’Nigeria’s democracy does not meet even the local standards’’, stressing that the country is operating in a very consulted matter.
