According to the Chairman of the National Peace Committee and former military Head of State, Gen. AbdulsalamAbubakar (rtd.), all presidential candidates, as well as national chairmen of all political parties in the country, will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) preparatory to the 2019 general elections.
The agreement is to ensure that all politicians carry out violence-free campaigns, as well as shun hate speeches and imprudent utterances during their campaign activities.
The former Head of State made the disclosure on Wednesday,in an interview with pressmen in Abuja, after a meeting with a delegation from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headed by MahmoodYakubu. He stated that the peace pact will be signed during a meeting slated for today (Thursday, Nov 29).
He said, “The next stage is that we are going to meet with the chairmen and secretaries of political parties tomorrow (Thursday) in order to discuss also and listen to them so that we can see how we can make progress." Gen. Abubakar (Rtd) also added.“After the meeting with the political parties, we are going to draw a Memorandum of Understanding for peace and tranquility and this, we hope will be signed by all the presidential candidates and the chairmen of the registered parties”.
While expressing worry over the unpleasant security situation in the country, particularly those of the Northeast and Rivers state said, the Retired General stated that “Our people should realize that peace is very paramount in any society, there must be peace before we conduct elections, there must be peace before we have a country.”
“In particular, we have a problem in Rivers State and some other areas where problems are emerging.So, we will try to see how we can nip the problem in the bud. And you can help us to also give us information where you think we should intervene. It is not only INEC that has that responsibility but all Nigerians have roles to play here.”
He also expressed optimism that INEC was being properly funded to perform its tasks, and urged Nigerians to embrace peace, without which there could be no development.
