Tinubu didn’t sign peace accord in 2023 – Kukah

Matthew Hassan-Kukah, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and a co-convener of the National Peace Committee, has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu did not sign the peace accord ahead of the 2023 elections. 

His statement comes amid the ongoing controversy over the refusal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to sign a similar peace pact for the upcoming Edo State gubernatorial election on September 21.

The PDP boycotted the pre-election peace ritual last week, citing allegations against the police as the reason for their refusal. The peace pact is aimed at promoting non-violence during elections.

Bishop Kukah made the comments during a town hall event organized by Channels Television, where he emphasized that while the National Peace Committee, led by former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, cannot compel any candidate to sign the peace pact, refusal to do so sends a concerning message.

He said; 

“What the committee 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 neighbour.

“If you go back to the 2019 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the PDP, was not there to sign the Peace Accord. 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.

“What is also very interesting is that the current president (Tinubu), when he was a presidential candidate, did not sign; it wasn’t our fault that the political opposition didn’t take advantage of it.

“It’s a pity but we are not going to take anybody to court for not signing the Peace Accord. The only thing it does to you as a candidate is that it sends a wrong signal which can be very easily exploited by the opposition.”