Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto State and one of the conveners of the National Peace Committee, Matthew Hassan-Kukah, has said President Bola Tinubu did not sign peace accord in 2023.
His comment is coming in the wake of the refusal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to sign the peace pact to shun violence in the Edo State gubernatorial election scheduled for September 21.
The PDP shunned the exercise termed as a pre-election ritual last week over some allegations levelled against the police.
The APC, PDP and Labour Party are among the 17 political parties fielding candidates for the elections.
Speaking at a townhall orgamised by Channels Television, Kukah said while the peace committee headed by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar can’t force any candidate to sign the peace pact, the action sends a wrong signal in the polity.
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,”
he added.
Daily Trust reports that in September 2022, former Lagos governor and 2023 APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, did not sign the Peace Accord.
He was reportedly represented at the event by his then running mate and now vice president, Kashim Shettima.
