Tinubu, Obi, Sowore and Others Sign Peace Pact Ahead of 2027 Campaigns

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Peter Obi, Omoyele Sowore and other presidential candidates and political leaders have signed a national peace agreement ahead of the 2027 general elections, pledging to conduct their campaigns without violence, hate speech, misinformation and personal attacks.

The agreement was signed in Abuja on Tuesday at an event organised by the National Peace Committee in partnership with The Kukah Centre, a day before the official start of public campaigns and rallies for the elections.

The ceremony brought together the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission, political parties, presidential and National Assembly candidates, security officials, members of the diplomatic community and other stakeholders.

Tinubu was represented at the event by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, while the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the Social Democratic Party candidate, Adewole Adebayo, and African Action Congress candidate, Omoyele Sowore, were among those who signed the accord.

Other political figures at the ceremony included the APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, presidential candidates of the Peoples Redemption Party and Labour Party, Donald Duke and Chibuzor Okereke, as well as Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and PRP National Chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed.

However, some prominent opposition figures, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, were not present. Atiku is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, while Makinde is contesting under the Allied Peoples’ Movement.

The National Peace Committee chairman and former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, was represented at the event by former Chief of Defence Staff, Martin Agwai.

The agreement was signed as political activities gather pace ahead of the 2027 elections, with the economy, insecurity, unemployment, poverty, infrastructure, healthcare and the credibility of the electoral process expected to feature prominently in campaign debates.

Under the revised timetable released by INEC, the presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State House of Assembly elections will take place on February 6.

Speaking through Akume, President Tinubu urged political parties and candidates to place the interests of the country above personal and party ambitions.

He called on politicians to avoid using ethnic and religious divisions as tools for winning votes, saying the campaign should focus on policies, programmes and competing ideas for addressing Nigeria’s problems.

Tinubu said the APC would abide by the provisions of the peace agreement and reject violence, hate speech, misinformation, incitement and the misuse of digital platforms during the election period.

The President also praised the National Peace Committee for its role in promoting peaceful elections since 2014. He said the country had made progress in election management through the introduction of technology, including the Permanent Voter Cards and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.

He also referred to recent governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states as examples of developments in election administration and voter participation.

The INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, said the peace agreement was intended to establish standards for political conduct before campaigns officially began.

He said Wednesday, August 19, marked the statutory beginning of public campaigns and rallies for the 2027 elections and urged candidates to use the period to present solutions to the challenges facing Nigerians.

Amupitan expressed concern over the spread of hate speech, political division, misinformation and personality-based campaigning. He said the commission had observed growing use of social media and digital platforms to spread unverified information and inflammatory messages.

The INEC chairman urged candidates to make the economy, security, infrastructure, education, healthcare and social inclusion major areas of discussion during their campaigns.

He also warned political parties and supporters against announcing unofficial election results, declaring victory prematurely or spreading unverified claims online.

According to Amupitan, the increasing use of artificial intelligence creates additional challenges for election management because false information can be produced and distributed quickly.

He assured political parties that INEC would remain neutral and provide a level playing field for all contestants.

Amupitan also disclosed that the commission was preparing to deploy about 1.4 million ad hoc personnel for the 2027 elections across more than 176,000 polling units nationwide.

He said INEC was studying lessons from recent elections, including the governorship contests in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states and the Federal Capital Territory Area Council election, to improve preparations for 2027.

The chairman said, however, that effective election technology and administrative planning alone could not guarantee peaceful polls. He said political parties, candidates and their supporters also had a major role to play in determining the quality and credibility of the elections.

The National Peace Committee said it had facilitated 30 peace agreements since 2015, including five national agreements and 25 agreements at the subnational level.

The committee also said it had created faith-based peace structures in 23 states to support its wider efforts to prevent election-related violence.

According to the committee, the latest agreement was developed in response to the growing use of personal attacks, character assassination and emotional appeals during political campaigns, instead of discussions centred on party manifestoes and policies.

Peter Obi said political candidates should not require a formal peace agreement before conducting themselves responsibly, arguing that anyone seeking public office should demonstrate good conduct before being elected.

The former Anambra State governor said he participated because he wanted to contribute to changing the electoral system from within.

Obi also raised concerns about violence recorded during the recent Osun governorship election and called for the victims and their families to be remembered.

He said no Nigerian should have to lose their life because of an election and urged political actors to conduct themselves in a manner that would prevent future electoral violence.

Obi said his main concern ahead of the 2027 election was whether Nigerians would be allowed to vote freely and have their votes properly counted.

He also said the electorate should punish candidates who violate the peace agreement by refusing to vote for them.

Sowore, however, expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the peace accord. The AAC presidential candidate described the exercise as a formal ritual and questioned whether similar agreements had prevented violence during previous elections.

He referred to the recent Osun election and alleged that dozens of people died in connection with the poll. Sowore argued that an election associated with such deaths could not simply be described as peaceful.

He also criticised INEC over the electronic transmission and uploading of results from the Osun election, alleging that some results had not been uploaded to the commission’s platform several days after the election.

Sowore argued that peace agreements should include clear and enforceable penalties for people who breach them. He called for what he described as a justice agreement that would impose consequences on political actors who violate the terms of such pacts.

He questioned why the deaths allegedly linked to the Osun election had not attracted stronger political accountability and warned that signing another agreement without enforcement could produce the same problems during the 2027 elections.

On security arrangements, the Nigeria Police Force pledged to remain neutral and provide protection for voters, candidates and other participants during the electoral process.

The Inspector-General of Police, Tunde Disu, was represented by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Umar Shehu.

Shehu said the police would not take sides in the contest and would focus on ensuring that eligible Nigerians could participate in the election without intimidation or fear.

He urged political parties and their supporters to cooperate with security agencies and avoid actions capable of causing violence before, during and after the polls.

The Inter-Party Advisory Council Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, also called on political parties, candidates and campaign teams to respect the terms of the agreement.

Dantalle urged political actors to avoid fake news, insults and personal attacks, while promoting tolerance, civility and constructive debate throughout the campaign period.

With public campaigns officially beginning on August 19, political parties and candidates are now expected to intensify their nationwide mobilisation ahead of the January 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.