Ishola Michael – Bauchi
Ahead of the gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections coming up on Saturday, 18th March 2023, all the political parties participating in the election in Bauchi state on Wednesday signed a peace accord.
All of the governorship candidates of the various political parties in the State signed the peace accord against the Saturday governorship election.
Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Haliru Dauda Jika of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP), Deputy Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Shehu Musa; Barr. Umar Ahmed of Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Ibrahim Makka of the Labour Party (LP) attended the event on Wednesday.
While speaking shortly after signing the accord at the State Police Headquarters, Governor Mohammed, said he has instructed his supporters and loyalists to abide by the electoral guidelines and avoid violence. “We urge the electoral umpire to be just and equitable and make sure they don’t use their federal might to brutality and sectionalise. They should make sure that there’s no sacred cow and make sure that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System(BVAS) works and accurate data are carried.
Bala Mohammed also pledged to be peaceful and democratic during and after the election.
NNPP’s Haliru Jika assured that, as a sitting lawmaker, representing Bauchi Central, his party would respect the constitution and electoral laws. “We assure you that we will play the game by the rules and In Sha Allah, we will win.”
For LP’s Ibrahim, “We are the most law-abiding party in the country as you are aware, we will ensure that peace reigns,” he said.
Ahmed Gwadabe of PRP pledged to abide by the peace accord and charged the law enforcement agencies to be just and professional. “We have told them that peace is not an absence of violence but the presence of justice.”
“They should be fair to all political parties. We hope that people will be allowed to go and cast their votes for candidate of their choice without any fear,” he said.
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