Some political parties in Kogi State on Tuesday signed a peace accord ahead of the 2023 general election just as the Chairman of Jamatul Nasir Islamic, (JNI), Ambassador Usman Bello said, peace is key to the development of any society and called on all the political parties to conduct themselves peacefully during the 2023 general election in the country.
Ambassador Bello who stated this in Lokoja during the signing of the peace accord by the political parties, however, regretted that some of the political parties failed to honour this important occasion, towards finding lasting peace in the electoral process.
The programme was organized by the National Youth Council of Nigeria, (NYCN), in partnership with Renaissance Care and Empowerment Foundation, (RECEF) and Initiative for Grassroot Advancement in Nigeria (INGRA).
He called on all the political parties to ensure a peaceful electoral process before, during and after the 2023 elections.
He urged the organizers to keep up the good job and not to be discouraged by the absence of some of the political parties.
In his welcome address, the Executive Director, (ED) RECEF; Ambassador Idris Ozovehe Muraina
noted that some politicians believed that they can always get into political offices without the contributions of the people they seek to represent, saying that the people particularly the youth must speak with their numbers.
He maintained that it has become clear that the youths will decide who represent them in the next dispensation.
He said this would have been an opportunity for the candidates to sell themselves and their programme to the electorates, said unfortunately they failed to utilize the opportunity.
“The refusal of some candidates to honour this all-important exercise goes a long way to show the importance the candidates attached to the electorates.
He noted that with the deployment of BVAS, those preparing to deploy violence and other unacceptable behaviour to undermine the process will be disappointed.
The representative of the National Orientation Agency, (NOA), Hassan Garba, stresses the need for relevant stakeholders to solicit cooperation with the youths to ensure peaceful 2023 polls
He called on the youths to shun all forms of violence that can adversely affect the outcome of the forthcoming election.
The senatorial candidates of the Social Democratic Party, (SDP), for Kogi West, Abdulrahman Ndakwo Tanko, Ibitomi Vance Ayodele, a senatorial candidate of the YPP, Kogi west and Umar Farouk Bakabe, House of Reps candidate of the ADC for Lokoja/Kogi federal constituency, were among those preparing who signed the peace accord.