*Pledges Peaceful, Issue-Based Election Campaign
*Rejects Violence, Hate Speech, AI-Driven Misinformation
*Obi Tasks Candidates On Campaigns Responsive To Nigeria’s Problems
*Accord A Ritual With Little Practical Value, Says Sowore
*Amupitan: We Provide Pitch, Refereeing, Quality Of Game Depends On Players
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has pledged his commitment and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to peaceful, transparent and issue-based campaigns, cautioning political stakeholders against violence, hate speech, misinformation and Artificial Intelligence-generated content during electioneering.
According to the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), campaigns for the Presidential and National Assembly elections opens on Wednesday, August 19.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Tinubu, who made the commitment on Tuesday, August 18, in Abuja, while signing the National Peace Accord, organised by the National Peace Committee, in partnership with The Kukah Centre, alongside political parties and their candidates in next year’s presidential election, counselled that elections should not be a “do-or-die affair,” urging stakeholders to prioritise Nigeria’s interests above personal ambitions.
The President, represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, charged all political actors to embrace the accord, noting: “It is natural during campaigns to disagree as opponents and advocate competing governing visions for our country.
“We may exchange occasional political jabs, but as members of the same household, the same national family, we must never resort to divisive or primordial sentiments of ethnicity or religion as tools for seeking power.
“Let us remember that elections are not a do-or-die affair. We are partners in the project of nation-building. Win or lose, our country, Nigeria, must be the ultimate winner.
“Win or lose, our country, Nigeria, must be the ultimate winner.”
He urged political actors to reject ethnic and religious sentiments, saying campaigns should focus on competing ideas, policies and development programmes, adding: “As the campaign season kicks off, I commit myself and my party, the All Progressives Congress, to the tenets of this accord.
“Let us campaign on superior ideas. Let us debate issues and promote the best policies to expand opportunities for our people.”
This, he stated, would accelerate Nigeria’s journey from a developing country toward becoming a first-world country.
Tinubu commended the National Peace Committee (NPC); former head of state, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd); Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III; and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese, for their sustained efforts toward peaceful elections since 2014.
The President noted that Nigeria’s electoral process had recorded significant improvements since the return to democratic governance in 1999 due to technological innovations introduced by the INEC.
He listed Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System as having helped to curb electoral manipulation and malpractice, including ballot stuffing and snatching at polling units, adding: “These improvements have restored power to the voters, who are now sure that their vote will count.”
He described the signing as a solemn commitment by political leaders to place national interest above partisan and personal ambitions, noting: “I call on all Nigerians, civil society organisations, our foreign partners, and the media to join us.”
Tinubu urged stakeholders to deepen and build a stronger, more vibrant democratic society through collective commitment to peaceful political participation, saying democracy goes beyond periodic elections and requires citizens to participate actively in national affairs and promote good governance.
He also charged Nigerians to have trust in public institutions, and political actors to preserve the country’s social cohesion, warning against using social media to spread incitement, misinformation, hate speech or manipulated artificial intelligence-generated materials.
Tinubu urged political parties and candidates to ensure their campaigns strengthened, rather than undermined Nigeria’s social fabric, saying the ultimate objective of the electoral process should remain the emergence of a peaceful, united and prosperous Nigeria.
He reiterated: “Our party rejects violence, hate speech, the spread of misinformation, including through artificial intelligence, and all forms of incitement, especially via social media.
“We are committed to peaceful, transparent elections that will strengthen political stability, social harmony, economic progress, and our nation’s prosperity. I encourage other political parties and political actors to do the same.”
The INEC Chairman, Amupitan, described the ceremony as more than a symbolic gathering, saying it was an opportunity for political actors to define the ethical boundaries of next year’s elections before the campaigns officially commence.
He said the timing of the accord was significant as Wednesday marks the statutory commencement of public campaigns and rallies for the elections, adding: “Before the first campaign flag is unfurled, before the first rally is staged, and before political rhetoric fills our public space, it is necessary that those who seek to lead this nation first gather to establish the ethical boundaries of their contest.”
Amupitan said Nigerians expect political parties and candidates to use the campaign period to discuss the challenges confronting the country, rather than engage in personal attacks and inflammatory rhetoric.
He stated that information gathered by the National Peace Committee’s Election Security Information Hub had shown an “alarming resurgence” of hate speech, toxic polarisation, coordinated misinformation and personality-driven political discourse.
This, he said, was particularly disturbing ahead of what is expected to be one of Nigeria’s fiercely contested elections since the return of democratic rule in 1999, challenging the candidates to make the economy, national security, infrastructure, healthcare, education and social inclusion central focus of their campaigns.
He stated: “Electoral contests in a constitutional democracy are not total wars; they are competitive job interviews before the electorate. Nigerians do not want insults; they want solutions.”
He cautioned political parties and their supporters against premature declarations of victory and circulation of unverified information on social media, saying the growing use of artificial intelligence and digital platforms have created new challenges for electoral management, particularly through disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference.
Amupitan challenged presidential candidates, party leaders and campaign organisations to ensure that their supporters and online teams complied with the spirit and provisions of the accord, noting: “Leadership attained at the expense of public peace, institutional integrity or human life is a hollow victory.”
He assured political parties that INEC had no preferred candidate and would provide a level playing field for all contestants, adding: “For the Commission, our moral authority to demand decorum from political actors rests squarely on our own administrative and technological preparedness.”
Amupitan said the Commission was drawing lessons from recent off-cycle/governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Councils to improve its preparations ahead of 2027.
He, however, stressed that technology and administrative preparedness alone cannot guarantee peaceful elections, as the conduct of political parties, candidates and their supporters remained critical, saying: “We provide the pitch and the refereeing, but the quality of the game depends on the players.”
The INEC boss charged the political class to recognise that the credibility of the elections would depend not only on INEC’s conduct, but also on the willingness of the candidates to accept democratic rules and respect the institutions responsible for administering the polls.
On his part, Abubakar said the committee had facilitated 30 peace accords since 2015, five at the national level and 25 at subnational level, and established faith-based peace structures in 23 states to complement its national peace-building efforts.
He explained that the issue-based peace accord was conceived in response to the increasing tendency of political campaigns to rely on sentiments, personal attacks and character assassination, rather than manifestoes, policies and programmes.
The former head of state disclosed that the accord was intended to encourage candidates and political parties to compete on ideas, debate opposing views respectfully, organise supporters peacefully, protect voters, respect electoral institutions and reject hate speech and misinformation.
He lamented the declining quality of political discourse in the country, noting: “Over the years, political campaigns and rallies have neglected the significance of party manifestos and programmes, and created a platform for political parties to resort to name-calling, personal insults, and character assassination.”
He said the provisions of the accord were anchored on Nigeria’s Constitution, the Electoral Act and other relevant laws, and therefore more than a political declaration, adding that the committee has established the Election Security Information Hub to monitor electoral offences and security developments and provide early warning and evidence-based analysis to stakeholders.
He charged parties, candidates, campaign councils and spokespersons to use the campaign period to address issues of concern to Nigerians and avoid inflammatory statements.
On his part, Obi said politicians should not need a peace accord before conducting themselves responsibly, arguing that anyone seeking high public office should demonstrate exemplary conduct even before being elected.
Obi said the central issue was not what the agreement was called, but whether candidates would allow their personal conduct to reflect the offices they sought, urging accord as a ritual with little practical value, candidates to make their campaigns responsive to the problems confronting Nigerians.
Sowore, while dismissing the accord as a ritual with little practical value, said his participation should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the effectiveness of the process, as previous accords had not prevented violence.
Also at the ceremony were political party leaders; presidential candidates; National Assembly candidates; Inspector General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu; and representatives of the diplomatic community, among other stakeholders.
Others who signed the accord include the presidential candidates of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi; Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo; African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore; Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke; and Labour Party (LP), Chibuzor Okereke.
Others present were National Chairman of the APC, Nentawe Yilwatda; Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin; PRP National Chairman, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed; federal and state lawmakers, party leaders and other candidates.
However, former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, and presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM) and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, were absent from the ceremony, while Abubakar, who is the Chairman of the National Peace Committee, was represented by a former chief of Defence staff, Gen. Martin Agwai (rtd).
