Former military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), has urged politicians to end the practice of vote buying.
Abdulsalami, who is the Chairman, National Peace Committee (NPC), said this during the signing of Peace Accord for the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State.
The ceremony held in Akure, the state capital, on Friday. Daily Trust reports that candidates of the 17 political parties participating in the election signed the peace accord.
Abdulsalami appealed to the governorship candidates to accept the outcome of the election as long as it was adjudged free, fair, and credible.
He said any candidates who feels dissatisfied with the outcome could seek legitimate and peaceful means of addressing any concerns that may eventually arise after the exercise.
“I urge all politicians who will sign the accord to fully commit themselves and their parties to the letter and spirit of the accord to shun violence and intimidation and remember that as politicians, you must demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship, as that is a key trait of good leadership,” he said.
“It remains the duty of Nigerian citizens to elect their leaders free from any inducements or prejudice. Political actors must also discontinue this menace of vote trading.”
While commending the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the work done so far, Abdulsalami pleaded with the electoral body to live up to its responsibilities in ensuring that eligible voters exercise their franchise peacefully.
Abdulsalami, who observed that Ondo had always been a peaceful state, also saluted the Nigeria Police Force and members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) for maintaining peace and security ahead of the election.
“I therefore urge them to remain resilient in averting any threats of violence and maintaining the peace in the state as we are only a few days away from the elections.”
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC National Chairman, commended the committee for its timely efforts in bringing parties and candidate together.
Yakubu, who said that seven peace accord had been signed in off cycle elections since inception 2020, called on religious leaders, traditional leaders, security agencies and others to join hand with commission for peaceful elections.
“To all political parties and candidates, singing of peace Accord alone will not guarantee peaceful election. Peace accord is never ultimate but your commitment with implementation is crucial
“So, you have signed the peace accord, you should commit yourself with implementation and pass the message to your supporter to complying to honour,” Yakubu said.
Kayode Egbetokun, Inspector General of Police (IGP), said the police would deploy its personnel to all the 3,933 polling units and 203 political wards in the state.
Mr Egbetokun, who was represented by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police, Sylvester Alabi, added that the police would also protect both the electoral officers and materials for the election.
“We are going to deploy five personnel to each of the polling units to protect the INEC materials, official, and electorate during and after the election,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the governorship candidates, Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who noted that the state has been peaceful prior to this time, promised that he would abide by the terms of the peace accord.
Aiyedatiwa said the state had been peaceful before now, especially during the campaign, urging the other co-contestants to ensure they play the game according to the rules.
“All stakeholders have been abiding by the rules of the game. I plead that they stay with the tenant of democracy. We will all abide by the tenet of the peaceful accord. Elections will come and go, but the state will remain. During the election, we should remain peaceful and also after the election.”