2019: Atiku, Oby Ezekwesili, absent as Buhari, others sign peace accord

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Peace Accord ahead of the general elections in 2019.

The President joined other presidential candidates in forthcoming polls to sign the agreement on Tuesday at a ceremony organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Some of the items on the accord include running an issue-based campaign, refraining from speeches that would incite violence, and supporting the electoral umpire to ensure a free and fair process, among others.

Two similar agreements were signed in 2015, which required the candidates to avoid any act that may lead to the outbreak of violence, before, during and after the election.

President Buhari was accompanied to the event by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole.

However, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and that of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Dr Oby Ezekwesili, were among prominent candidates absent at the signing ceremony.

The Chairman of the National Peace Committee, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, and former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, urged various candidates to shun violence and support a peaceful exercise.

A former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi Adeyeye, also admonished the candidates to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner.