Buhari, Atiku, Other Candidates Sign Another Peace Accord

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Wednesday, February 13th, 2019

ABUJA, NIGERIA (AFRICAN EXAMINER) – As the country matches to the first leg of general polls, President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to youths not to allow themselves to be used to cause violence during the exercise.

The President made the appeal Wednesday at the second and final signing of Peace Accord on 2019 Presidential election at the International Conference centre, Abuja

Buhari urged youths to eschew all forms of violence and cooperate with all the relevant agencies during the elections, noting that citizens would vote according to Parties, but in the end, the only real “Party is Nigeria, our country”. Buhari added; Our elections are important only to the extent that they make her strong. Let us do our best and ask God to bless us and our country’’.

“I call on all Nigerians to contribute to the building of a viable polity by more active participation well beyond the mere casting of votes. Elections by themselves do not constitute Democracy. It is the spirit of citizenship engagement that utilizes the energy of citizens towards the attainment of good governance.

“We have assembled here to mark the final phase of our campaigns and we are now at the doorstep of our elections. The Campaigns so far have gone well and we thank God for that. For the few incidents in which people lost their lives largely through accidents, we pray that God grants them eternal peace. Now campaigns are over and our next assignment is for us all, citizens and contestants alike, to go out and exercise our civic duties.

“We, the Presidential candidates are here to sign and commit ourselves to do all that is possible to ensure the success of the elections but most importantly to accept the final outcome. I appeal to my fellow contestants to commit to these ideals so as to keep our country and people safe. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, our electoral Umpire, has already assured us that they have done everything possible to ensure free and fair elections’’ the President said.

The President recalled that it was out of desire to ensure smooth polls that he made INEC to receive all the resources it needed to perform its job.

While noting that security agencies have been fully briefed as well as appreciated that their “visible neutrality is key to the conduct, credibility and success of the elections’’, President Buhari thanked the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Rt. Honourable Patricia Scotland, for her presence in the country, affirming that her friendship ‘’means a lot to us as a country’’.

He also thanked former Military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the Chairman of the National Peace Committee and all his members for the hard work they have put into ensuring “that our Elections are peaceful”.