BEVERLY HILLS, February 13, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Saturday’s presidential election, on Wednesday, met his main challenger, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, at the International Conference Center (ICC), in Abuja, to sign a second National Peace Accord.
Present at the venue are the former Head of State and Chairman of the National Peace Committee (NPC), Abdulsalami Abubakar; Bishop Mathew Kukah; the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, and many others.
A previous accord had been signed by the presidential candidates but Abdulsalami said the committee decided to organise the peace accord signing in order to ensure peaceful conduct of all elections in the country.
The former head of state said disharmony among political parties retards Nigeria’s development and reminded the presidential candidates that by signing the peace accord, they are committing themselves to ensuring a peaceful election in Nigeria.
“Without cooperation among political parties, we are going nowhere,” he said.
He, however, said the mere signing of the peace accord will not achieve the required objective “unless all other actors are forced to work with the same rules.”
The former head of state lamented the spread of misinformation in the nation’s mosques and churches and said: “this must be contained.”
Also, former head of state, Yakubu Gowon, who spoke briefly urged the candidates to tell their supporters to ensure peaceful conduct during the elections so that in the future, there may be no need for foreign observers because the right conduct would have been assured.
“May the winner be as dictated from above,” he said.
Among those attending the event are former Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who is leading the ECOWAS observer mission; a former President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, who heads the Commonwealth observer mission and Festus Moghai a former President of Botswana who is heading the Democratic National Institute and Republic National Institute.
In her remarks, Scotland, said millions of people across the world are praying for Nigeria and its people hoping that the forthcoming election will hold peacefully and expressed the hope that the poll will entrench and build on the gains achieved since 1999.
She said the signing ceremony holding today is fully in line with Commonwealth values
“It is a burden that Nigerian leaders gathered here today carry. We call on their party, supporters and public to follow their lead.
“Elections will come and go, but this great Nigeria will remain,” Ms Scotland said.
