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Presidential Candidates Sign Peace Accord, Pledge to Accept Election Outcome
Candidates from 18 political parties participating in the presidential election scheduled for February 25 have signed a peace accord in Abuja.
Present at the signing of the peace accord were members of the National Peace Committee, as well as President Muhammadu Buhari.
Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC), Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were among the presidential candidates present.
By the text of the peace accord, presidential candidates make a commitment to “accept and abide by the outcome of the 2023 presidential election and if issues should arise”, to “deploy constitutional means and appeal to the courts rather than other unconstitutional means”.
In his remarks, Goodluck Jonathan, former president, said the peace accord is needed to deter candidates and their allies from using instruments of misinformation to influence the election.
The former president, whose speech was read by Matthew Kukah, Catholic bishop of Sokoto, charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to ensure that the election is credible.
“This is aimed at mitigating disinformation, and misinformation during the election and in the time of the social media era,” Jonathan said.
“There is no other time than now given the considerable tension in the country as a result of the election. The election is not war. The country needs a stable democracy. The world looks up to us to get our leadership right and leadership recruitment right.”
Yakubu Gowon, former military head of state, advised the candidates to be “civil in their engagements”, adding that Nigeria is in need of a leader who is capable of “bringing and ensuring dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of the people”.
“I appeal to those who are bent on disrupting the election to reconsider their actions, to give an opportunity for just and fair resolution to the problems at hand. I wish all Nigerians a peaceful election and smooth transition of government as we had last time,” he added.
The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, says he has concluded plans to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) in no distant time.
He has reportedly mandated his commissioners and other appointees to either join him in the APC or resign if they are not comfortable with his decision.
A Government House source, who confirmed the development, said the governor broke the news during the State Executive Council meeting on Thursday.
The source, who pleaded anonymity, said Governor Eno warned his appointees that he had nothing to negotiate with them other than for them to follow him or leave.
The governor was quoted as saying, “Anybody who claims he is not aware of my intention to leave the PDP is still living in the 18th century.
“Apart from elected officials like House of Assembly members and Local Government Chairmen, I have nothing to negotiate with you.
“Let me tell you, anybody who believes that when I leave the PDP he will use the party structure to fight me is lying, because I will still control the PDP structure.”
Eno disclosed that he is in love with the leadership style of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and, as such, would like to align with him.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman in the state, Aniekan Akpan, could not confirm the development at the time of filing this report, as his lines were busy. However, the Director of the APC Media Network, Mr. Iniobong John, confirmed the news to journalists.
John said, “It is no longer a rumour. I think there are some confirmations that the governor is defecting to the APC. Though unofficial, I can confirm that the governor is joining our party sooner or later. No official date has been confirmed yet, but all plans have been perfected for his defection to our party.”
He described the proposed defection as great news for the APC in the state and for Akwa Ibom in general, adding that the state would now be better connected to the national power center.
Daily Post
The All Progressives Congress has endorsed President Bola Tinubu as its flag bearer in the 2027 presidential elections.
The Party’s National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, announced this on Thursday, on behalf of its National Working Committee, at its National Summit held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.
The endorsement came hours after APC governors and lawmakers cast a vote of confidence on the president and endorsed him for a second term.
The Federal Government has filed a criminal suit against the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, over comments she made on national television that were allegedly deemed defamatory.
The case, marked CR/297/25, was filed on May 16, 2025, before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, with Akpoti-Uduaghan listed as the sole defendant.
According to court documents, the government is charging the senator under Section 391 of the Penal Code (Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990) for allegedly “making imputation knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person.”
The said comments were allegedly made during a live broadcast of Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on April 3, 2025, where Akpoti-Uduaghan was said to have criticised unnamed individuals in a manner the government claimed was defamatory.
Count two of the charges accused Akpoti-Uduaghan of “making an imputation knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person, contrary to Section 391 of the Penal Code Law, Cap. 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990, and punishable under Section 392 of the same Law.
“That you, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on or about the 3rd day of April 2025, during the same Politics Today programme on Channels Television in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, made the following imputation concerning Yahaya Adoza Bello, former Governor of Kogi State.
“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night to eliminate me. When he met with him, he then emphasised that I should be killed, but I should be killed in Kogi.
“You knew or had reason to believe that such imputations would harm the reputation of Yahaya Adoza Bello, former Governor of Kogi State”, the charge added.
Among the witnesses lined up to testify include Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello, who are identified in court filings as the nominal complainants.
Other witnesses listed include Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, Sandra Duru, and police investigators Maya Iliya and Abdulhafiz Garba, who were involved in probing the matter.
The former Kogi governor had in April, petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), accusing Akpoti-Uduaghan, of making defamatory statements against him.
The former Kogi governor alleged that during a homecoming event on April 1, 2025, in Okehi Local Government Area, the female lawmaker ‘maliciously’ defamed him and accused him of being involved in an assassination plot.
The case comes amid ongoing political tensions surrounding Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was suspended from the Senate earlier this year. Her suspension sparked widespread criticism and allegations of political persecution.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had accused Akpabio of targeting her after she rejected his alleged sexual advances, claiming that her suspension was orchestrated to silence her.
She made the allegations following the altercation over sitting arrangement in the Senate Chamber that led to Akpabio ordering the sergeant-at-arms to eject her from the chamber when she rejected the seat offered to her.
She is challenging her suspension at the Federal High Court, where the hearing has been scheduled for June 27.
Source: ICIR
