The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has defended the absence of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, from the signing of the National Peace Accord, saying the decision was a deliberate protest against what it described as the failure of the peace process to adequately address electoral violence.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said politicians had repeatedly signed similar agreements during previous election cycles, but violations often occurred without corresponding action or condemnation from the National Peace Committee.
Mr Abdullahi stated this during an interview with Channels Television, where he explained that Atiku’s absence was intended to draw attention to the perceived shortcomings of the peace process.
“We’ve been signing this thing year in, year out, every election cycle; we sign in support of this commitment. Things still happen; people still get killed, harassed, like in the case of Osun, but we don’t hear the Peace Committee say anything. They don’t condemn the killings,” he said.
The ADC spokesman also cited comments attributed to Senator Francis Fadahunsi ahead of the recent Osun State governorship election, arguing that the National Peace Committee failed to respond adequately to statements that could potentially encourage electoral violence.
“When Senator Fadahunsi said that they should go out and kill people, we didn’t hear the Peace Committee say anything. So, what is the point? So, it’s our, ADC, way of saying no,” Mr Abdullahi said.
He said the party’s position was aimed at compelling the National Peace Committee, which organised the accord, to move beyond what he described as ceremonial signing events and take concrete steps to prevent electoral violence and hold political actors accountable.
“If we want to be part of this, if you want to be taking us seriously, then you need to up your game,” he said.
Mr Abdullahi maintained that political leaders should be held accountable for statements capable of inciting violence, irrespective of their political positions.
He also criticised comments attributed to President Bola Tinubu, saying they contributed to the political atmosphere that preceded the violence recorded during the Osun election.
“When the President said all is fair in politics, he set the narrative for the violence that followed in the Osun election. We didn’t hear the Peace Committee say, ‘No, Mr President, that is not a good thing to say,’” he said.
The ADC spokesman said the party was not opposed to the idea of a national peace accord but wanted the process to be backed by effective monitoring, condemnation of violations and accountability for those who breach their commitments.
“We are saying you need to do more. It’s not just to gather us for the ceremony of signing. If we commit to something, you have to be able to ask people to abide by it,” Mr Abdullahi said.
