Your campaigns must be issue-based, devoid of incitement, Buhari tells Tinubu, Obi, Atiku, others

 

Obiora Ifoh, Abuja

 

President Muhammadu Buhari says the signing of the Peace Accord with former President Goodluck Jonathan and other presidential candidates in the build up to the 2015 elections contributed largely to the peaceful outcome of the polls.

Receiving the National Peace Committee (NPC), led by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, on Thursday at State House, the President urged all the signatories to the 2023 election Peace Accord, and their supporters, to abide by its content and spirit.

The President noted that the signing of the First National Peace Accord by presidential candidates in the 2023 election, earlier at a separate event on Thursday, was aimed at committing political parties, aspirants and their supporters to conduct their campaigns in a peaceful manner, devoid of ethnic, religious and hate speeches that could mar the upcoming elections.

“The timing of the First National Peace Accord is significant considering political party campaigns have already commenced in the country.

“The initiatives undertaken by the NPC are commendable as these efforts would ensure issue-based campaigns.

“I look forward to the second phase of the signing of the National Peace Accord coming up in January 2023. “You may recall that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and I signed the first National Peace Accord before the 2015 elections.

“It is my conviction that it contributed significantly to the peaceful outcome of the 2015 election.

“It is my hope that the National Peace Committee continues this important work   post 2023,” the President said.

President Buhari reiterated that credible, free and fair elections can only be achieved in a peaceful environment, adding that the signing of the Electoral Act 2021 as amended with landmark provisions underline his resolve for transparent and all-inclusive Electoral Process.

He, therefore, urged all stakeholders to conduct themselves in a manner that would ensure the successful conduct of the General Elections in 2023 as well as smooth transition from one democratically elected Government to another.

Gen. Abubakar, who briefed the President on the activities of the Committee in the build-up to the next year’s election, said they have met with various stakeholders, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Heads of security agencies, who reassured of their preparedness to conduct the polls creditably.

The former Head of State told the President that the membership of the Committee has been expanded to bring in some ‘‘young minds’’, expressing confidence that the Committee would do its utmost to ensure that all political actors live up to expectations.

The NPC Chairman also lauded President Buhari for repeatedly reaffirming his commitment to fairness in the 2023 elections, particularly at international outings.

He noted with delight that the off-season elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States have confirmed President Buhari’s irreversible commitment to credible and violence-free polls in the country.

The members of the National Peace Committee are:  Gen. Abubakar, Chairman; Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto; John Cardinal Onaiyekan; Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Prof. Ameze Guobadia; Prince Sam Amuka; Justice Roseline Ukeje (rtd); Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; Bishop Mathew Hasan Kukah; Lt. Gen. Mathew Luther Agwai; Mr. Femi Otedola; Alhaji Ahmed Yayale; Ms Idayat Hassan, John Momoh; Sani Suleiman Atsu and Fr. Attah Barkindo, Head of NPC Secretariat.

Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was absent on Thursday when the presidential candidates of other political parties signed a peace accord ahead of the 2023 elections.

Tinubu was represented by his running mate, Kashim Shettima, at the event, which took place at the International Conference Centre (ICC) Abuja.

Major contenders in the presidential race, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, were all present.

The peace accord was organised by the National Peace Committee headed by former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah.

The INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu while addressing the leaders and  candidates of political parties said it was not enough to simply sign the Peace Accord what is more important is to abide by its letter and spirit.

Prof Yakubu advised them to pass the message to their candidates, members and supporters across the country for electoral compliance.

He explained that the 2023 general election will be conducted for one thousand four hundred ninety one constituencies nationwide made up of one Presidential constituency, twenty eight Governorship elections, 109 senatorial Districts , 360 Federal  constituencies  and 993 state Assembly constituencies.

The INEC chairman maintained every election was important, therefore the commitment to peaceful and issue-based electioneering campaign should resonate beyond the 18 political party Chairmen and presidential candidates.

Similarly, ahead of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, has asked the Nigerian Judiciary to maintain the position of an honesty and fairness while insisting that he was not unmindful of the vital role the legal profession play in the electioneering process.

President Buhari, who spoke at the official commissioning of the Body of Benchers Complex in Abuja, said, “A society where justice thrives is one that can be assured of development.

“For Nigeria to effectively embrace sustainable development, institutions such as the legal profession must remain deeply committed towards promoting good governance.

“As the 2023 general elections draw near, the significance of the legal profession becomes even more pronounced considering the vital roles you play in the electioneering process, both at the pre and post-election stages.

“I hope you maintain the position of an honest arbiter”.

While commending the Body of Benchers, BOB, for the successful completion of the complex which he noted will boost infrastructural development of the legal profession, President Buhari, said his administration would continue to pay strict adherence to the rule of law.

“As I have always maintained, adherence to the rule of law is critical to the progress of any society and this administration has not reneged in its commitment to this ideal.

“Efforts by a Body as this, with over five decades of proven track record, to keep the wheel of justice turning effectively in providing a solid foundation for upholding the rule of law are commendable.

“I recall that on the 28th July, 2022 when I played host to the leadership of the Body of Benchers, its Chairman, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, was very emphatic in making a case for the welfare of judicial officers in the country.

“I am not unaware of the passion and commitment of Chief Olanipekun in championing the cause of the welfare of judicial officers in Nigeria, as well as the commitment of the Body on this matter.

“May I restate my commitment towards this ideal. In similar vein, I have been intimated of the engagement of Consultants by the Body, through its Judiciary Advisory Committee, to amongst other things, come up with a peer review of the conditions of service of Judicial Officers in Nigeria with other countries and jurisdictions, within and outside Africa.

“I earnestly look forward to the completion of this peer review and the submission of recommendations, as this will assist us to review of the welfare packages”, President Buhari added.

While the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, noted that the BOB complex will ease stress involved in organising call to bar ceremonies for new lawyers, the Attorneys-General of  the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, said the legal body must re-awake itself to the reality of sustaining high moral and ethical standard in the legal profession.

“We cannot afford to lower the bar, if we must sustain public confidence”, Malami stated.

In his remarks, Chairman of the BOB, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, said the occasion was an opportunity for the legal body to reiterate its call for a more virile and independent Judiciary.

“The Body of Benchers has formally engaged the services of a leading consulting firm to undertake a peer review of the conditions of service of our Judicial Officers against what obtain in some other jurisdictions globally.

“When their report and recommendations are submitted, we will make same available to Mr. President and other stakeholders; with a plea that the anticipated recommendations should, among other compelling factors, be used for a more enduring package for Judicial Officers across the country”, Olanipekun stated.

He disclosed that the Benchers Complex that was commissioned by President Buhari, consists of a 3,000-sitting capacity auditorium, a 240-sitting capacity meeting room, a 1,000-sitting capacity banquet hall, a 1,000-sitting capacity multipurpose hall, committee meeting room, offices for secretariat staff, library, and a courtroom for the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, amongst others.

Among dignitaries at the commissioning included the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike who is a Life Bencher and many host of others from the Nigerian Judiciary that graced the occasion.