The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, organized a peace accord in Gombe state, but the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, refused to sign it.
The Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security worked with the Commission to organize the Peace Accord on Wednesday.
Maj. Gen. Amnon Kwaskebe (retired), the state PDP chairman, said that the police had failed to safeguard the party and its institutions in the state.
The “most targeted gubernatorial candidate in the state,” according to him, was the party’s nominee for governor, Muhammad Barde.
He declared, “The party leadership at the state level made the choice for us to decline to sign. You are all aware of the attacks on PDP facilities that have been taking place. Our gubernatorial candidate is not present despite the fact that we have reported the situation to all the security agencies, including the head security agency. I can’t hold that against him because I was invited to be the party chairman.
“Our candidate has received the greatest criticism as a governor candidate. Without retaliating, we attempted to file a formal report, but the cops did nothing. We will not be signing this document.
The chairman responded, “We have trust in the process, but you build peace on established peace,” in response to criticism of the process.
Oqua Etim, the commissioner of police, lashed out at the PDP leadership for refusing to sign the peace agreement.
“It is sad that PDP did not join, as there were 18 other parties,” he remarked. Their billboards weren’t the only thing that was destroyed. Has a billboard for just one political party been destroyed? Billboards for churches are even demolished. Has our signage company tried to identify the perpetrator of the billboard destruction? Can billboards cast ballots?
Regarding the purported purchase of Permanent Voters Cards, Etim claimed that political parties should not acquire PVCs.
“They should quit making outrageous claims,” he said. “Do you take the pins if you take an ATM to the bank?”
But Ibrahim Umar, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, said it would be foolish to purchase PVC at this time.
Because of technology, he replied, “I don’t know what you mean when you say cloning PVCs. It is really abnormal.
“You will not be accredited if you bring PVC that is not your own.”
Regarding political parties’ participation, he asserted, “It is their choice; nobody is being forced. The final agreement we signed was successful and took place in 2019. Gombe has 14 candidates for governor; 13 have signed, which is fair. since it is not required.
“As the governor, I’m the chief security officer of the state, and APC is the dominant party not only in Gombe but in the entire federation,” stated Governor Muhammadu Yahaya. We want good administration, which can only exist in an environment of peace, security, and tranquillity.
Recall that 14 of the state’s 18 political parties will be submitting candidates for the gubernatorial race.
Political parties are not required to join in the peace pact; participation is voluntary. However, a mediation procedure aids in preventing violence.
