The Peoples Democratic Party has refused to sign the peace accord for the Edo State Governorship election scheduled for September 21.
Former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar announced this on Thursday at the venue of the signing of the peace accord in Benin.
While thanking those who signed the peace accord, he said, “As you must have seen in the media, I met the Governor (Godwin Obaseki) yesterday and he told me that the PDP is not going to sign this peace accord.
“They have made some observations and I was expecting the Chairman of the PDP to come and make that statement. Having waited for him this long, it is just to announce that the PDP said they are not going to sign.”
According to him, the PDP said it would only sign the peace accord if certain conditions are met.
The Chairman of the PDP in the state who was present at the venue did not explain why the party refused to sign the accord.a
Obaseki had on Wednesday accused security operatives of favouring the All Progressives Congress, saying that the police had obtained warrants and arrested members of the PDP, essentially driving the leaders of the party into hiding.
“Until everybody (party members) arrested in Edo is released or brought back to Edo to be tried for whatever offences you claimed they have committed, we have no confidence that the police is going to protect us in this election,” Governor Obaseki said.
Also, on the same day, the Deputy Director General of the PDP campaign Don-Pedro Obaseki gave reasons why the party would not sign. He spoke during an appearance on Politics Today.
Although the PDP and its candidate for the election, Mr Asue Ighodalo, did not sign, other parties including the the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Mr Monday Okpebholo, signed the peace accord. The Labour Party and its candidate Mr Olumide Akpata signed as well.
Other parties who signed the accord are the Accord Party, Accord Alliance, African Action Congress, African Democratic Congress, Action Democratic Party.
Others include the All Progressives Congress (APC), the All Progressives Grand Alliance Grand Alliance Grand Alliance (APGA), the Allied Peoples Movement, Action Peoples Party, Labour Party, National Rescue Movement, Peoples Redemption Party, the Social Democratic Party, Youth Party, the Young Progressives Party (YPP) among others.
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The National Peace Committee was founded in 2014 as a non-governmental organisation comprised of elder statesmen in the country to promote free, fair, credible and peaceful elections.
Over the past 10 years, the committee has worked to avoid the breakdown of law and order during election circles. A prominent feature of its activities is the peace accord signings by political parties and candidates ahead of elections.
General Abubakar is the Chairman, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (Retired) is the Vice Chairman and Bishop Mathew Kukah is the Convener. Members include the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad III, and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, among others.e
APC,at a press conference at the party secretariat the All Progressives Party said it will boycott from signing the accord for some disturbing reasons.
The State chairman, Emperor Jarret Tenebe said the party’s reason was that for over two months after a Police Inspector Onuh Akor who was the orderly to the candidate of the party, Sen Monday Okpebholo was shot and killed along Airport Road, nobody has been arrested and prosecuted, despite claims by the former Commissioner of Police, Funsho that “the command had the names of those who murdered Inspector Onuh Akor at the Benin airport.”
He alleged that rather getting the suspects arrested, Governor Obaseki is keeping them in the government house.
Tenebe said, “This failure of the police has emboldened the State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and his Peoples Democratic Party to attack members of our political party at rally grounds and in their private business premises ceaselessly.”
He claimed that the governor has made inflammatory statements that have undermined his position as the Chief Security Officer of the State.
He chronicled the various attacks the APC campaign team have suffered in different communities Akoko-Edo, Etsako Central, Esan West local government area while mobilising supporters for the election.
“In the wake of this very worrisome and dangerous trend, Governor Obaseki kept mute and refused to condemn the attacks as the Chief Security Officer of the state. Instead, one Odion Olaye, the Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress in Edo State, while in the company of Obaseki, openly threatened the country that, “Nigeria will burn if INEC fails to declare the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo as the winner of the September 21, 2024 gubernatorial election.”
He mentioned several other chieftains of the PDP who he alleged have publicly boasted that they would do anything and go away with it and that the party’s petition to the police about these incidents with the names of suspects attached have not been treated.
He said “The summary of these episodes is the unwillingness of Obaseki to embrace peace and the refusal of the security agencies to guarantee a peaceful environment for the conduct of September 21st, 2024 scheduled election.”
As part of its demand to sign the peace accord, Tenebe said the police should be seen to taking steps to declare those fingered in the killing of the police allegedly being hidden in government wanted.
How it was gathered that the leadership of APC changed its mind to sign the accord at the dying minutes.
However, some analysts say the event may not guarantee Peace, despite the promised sending of over 40,000 of police officers and men as well as soldiers the the state to monitor the exercise.
This is even as the confidence of the public in the police is at the lowest ebb.
“The police claimed to have sent the same figures of its men and officers to the last off-season governorship election in Kogi, yet the elections were marred with killings, massive rigging, ballot box snatching, among others that have left sour tastes with the citizens till today. Edo election might witness low turnout of voters, massive thumb printing of election papers by the most powerful and connected with the normal slogan of ‘ go to courts’” says an analyst.