By Elvira Jordan
As the 2027 Presidential election campaigns commence, nineteen Presidential candidates of the leading political parties came together to sign a Peace Accord, with President Bola Tinubu, former vice president Atiku Abubakar and former Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde absent at the signing.
The peace accord signing which took place at the Bola Tinubu Conference Center, formerly International Conference Center ICC, Abuja was initiated by the Abdulsalam Abubakar led National Peace Committee, to curb electoral violence in Nigeria by encouraging aspiring candidates to appreciate the needs of the general electorate, moderate campaigns accordingly.
This comes as the window for campaigns for the 2027 General Election officially opens today. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s time table, the presidential and national assembly campaigns commences today, 19 August, 2026.
Speaking at the signing, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, described the Peace Accord as a critical political tradition capable of strengthening the moral authority required to promote decorum in the electoral process.
Amupitan urged political parties and their candidates to commit themselves to issue-based campaigns and present measurable manifestos that would prioritize the welfare and interests of Nigerians.
He said political campaigns should provide an opportunity for candidates to present their programmes and compete for the mandate of the people, rather than become a platform for violence and confrontation.
On his part, Omoyele Sowore who is the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress ( AAC) called on the organizers of the Peace Accord to rather initiate the signing of a “Justice Accord”, rather than a Peace Accord.
“What is the essence of the peace accord that people will not obey, especially when people know that they will not get justice.
“We need to address the issue of impunity amongst the ruling class. There is no justice in Nigeria. So what we really need is a Justice Accord that would compel the government to act with justice and fairness”.
The Peace Accord is expected to guide the conduct of political parties, candidates and their supporters as campaigns for the 2027 general elections gather momentum.
The accord also encourages the politicians to emphasize more debates among the various candidates, focusing on qualitative education, improvement of power supply, creation of employment and improvement of the economy.
