The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s absence from the signing of the National Peace Accord ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Mr Adebayo argued that President Tinubu’s absence from the ceremony suggested that he was not committed to peace and sent the wrong signal to security agencies ahead of the elections.
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The presidential candidate stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.
“President Tinubu not showing up today, he is showing that he is not committed to peace. He is sending a wrong signal to law enforcement, for the people who work for the government, that the President looks like he is not committed enough,” Mr Adebayo said.
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He urged the President to explain why he was unable to attend the ceremony and reassure Nigerians of his commitment to the peace process.
“So, he needs to correct that by making a clear statement explaining why he is absent and making sure that he makes a statement committing himself to the peace process,” he added.
Presidential candidates and representatives of political parties converged on Abuja on Tuesday to sign the National Peace Accord ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The accord, organised by the National Peace Committee, commits political parties, presidential candidates and other political actors to conduct their campaigns peacefully, avoid inflammatory rhetorics and violence, and accept the outcome of elections or seek redress through lawful means.
The initiative was conceived in 2014, ahead of the 2015 general elections, amid fears that the polls could trigger widespread violence. The national peace committee, chaired by former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar, was subsequently established to promote compliance with the agreement and promote the spirit of sportsmanship in electoral contests.
The first major national accord was signed in January 2015 by the leading presidential candidates, including then-President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Muhammadu Buhari of the APC, alongside candidates of other parties. The agreement was particularly significant because it came four years after the 2011 post-election violence, which claimed hundreds of lives. The candidates pledged to conduct peaceful campaigns and accept the outcome of the election.
Since then, the peace accord has been typically signed ahead of every general election. However, the absence of President Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), at the Tuesday’s peace accord was notable.
Mr Tinubu was represented at the ceremony by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
Meanwhile, the presidential candidates who attended the ceremony were Peter Obi of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC), Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP),and Mr Adebayo of the SDP.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, also attended.
Is there a precedent of Tinubu’s absence from peace accord signing?
The National Peace Committee, a non-governmental body in charge of facilitating peace accords among top political actors in every major election cycle, organised two separate ocassions for presidential candidates to sign peace accords ahead of the 2023 general elections.
While Mr Tinubu was absent from one of the events, where he was represented by his then-running mate, Kashim Shettima, he personally attended the other.
The presidential candidates signed the first accord on 29 September 2022. Mr Tinubu was absent from the event. But Mr Shettima represented him. Other candidates who personally signed the accord were Atiku, then of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, then of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP); and Mr Sowore of the AAC. Mr Tinubu was said to be away in the United Kingdom at the time.
The second accord signing was held on 23 February 2023, which was just two days to the 25 February 2023 presidential election. This time, Mr Tinubu was present at the ceremony, which was also attended by Atiku, Mr Kwankwaso, Mr Sowore and others.
Has the accord worked?
The experience of previous elections suggests that the accord has had some positive impact, although it has not eliminated electoral violence or ensured complete compliance by political actors.
The 2015 election remains the clearest example of its potential impact. The late Buhari defeated Mr Jonathan in the presidential election, and Mr Jonathan conceded defeat before the final results were formally announced.
The concession helped prevent the widespread violence that had been feared, while the National Peace Committee also played a role in facilitating dialogue between the leading candidates and discouraging inflammatory campaign tactics.
Analysts, however, have noted that the peaceful outcome was the result of several factors, including the restraint of political actors and the role of institutions such as INEC and the National Human Rights Commission, rather than the peace accord alone.
In 2019, political parties and presidential candidates again signed the accord, with the agreement signed twice during the election cycle. The Peace Committee said its interventions contributed to mitigating violence, although the election was not entirely free of violent incidents.
The record was more complicated in 2023. Political parties and candidates signed an initial accord in September 2022 and another shortly before the presidential election. Despite the agreements, the National Peace Committee recorded widespread violations. According to the committee, party spokespersons accounted for 44% of the violations, party members 26%, presidential candidates 19 per cent, hardcore supporters 11% and party chairmen 4%.
Nevertheless, the Peace Committee argued that the accord prevented widespread post-election violence. Rather than resorting to violence over disputed results, aggrieved candidates and parties largely pursued their grievances through the courts.
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Independent assessments, however, show that electoral violence still occurred during the 2023 election cycle despite the peace agreements. This suggests that the accord is more effective as a mechanism for dialogue, restraint and conflict prevention than as a guarantee against electoral violence. Its effectiveness ultimately depends on whether political candidates, their parties, supporters and state institutions are willing to honour the commitments they make.
Call for free, fair and credible elections
The SDP presidential candidate argued that President Tinubu ought to have prioritised attending the peace accord ceremony in the interest of national security and Nigeria’s democracy.
He called for a free, fair and credible election.
“There is no issue of state grandeur than the President showing that democracy is important. There is no more national security than the continuity of the state. The state has to exist and a free, fair and credible election is important for establishing civil government.
“I don’t see any reason why President Tinubu, who works and lives in Abuja and who has the influence on influencing the date when the thing will be signed and who has given assurance that he will come, I see that President Tinubu has been missing in action,” he added.
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