Kukah
Mathew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic bishop of Sokoto Diocese, said opposition parties in Edo State could take advantage of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) refusal to sign a peace accord ahead of Saturday’s election.
Mr Kukah, the convener of the National Peace Committee, and Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former Nigerian leader, were in Edo State last week to commit political parties and their candidates taking part in Saturday’s governorship election to signing a peace pact, committing them to a violence-free election.
Mr Abubakar is the chairperson of the National Peace Committee.
While other political parties and their candidates committed themselves to the pact, the ruling PDP in the state declined to sign the peace accord, citing police bias.
Speaking on Sunday at an Election Security Townhall organised by Channels Television in Benin City, the Edo State capital, the Sokoto Catholic Bishop said the PDP’s action sends a wrong signal to Nigerians. He said the committee cannot force any candidates to sign a pact, which has become a national ritual in the last decade.
“The National Peace Committee, what we do is not in the Electoral Act, it’s not law; it’s moral. You can’t compel people to fall in love or love their neighbours.”
He recalled what happened when Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and then PDP presidential candidate in 2019, refused to attend the peace accord signing ceremony.
“And of course, the opposition went to town, which is what it ought to be, and the next day, he (Atiku) turned up to sign,” Bishop Kukah said, suggesting Atiku was forced to commit to the pact after opposition parties took advantage of his action. PremiumTimes
