Goodwill message by the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on the occasion of the signing of peace accord ahead of the Ondo State Governorship Election held at the International Culture and Event Centre (The Dome), Akure on Friday 8th November, 2024.
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| INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu delivers Goodwill Message on the occasion of signing of peace accord ahead of the Ondo State Governorship Election 2024 |
Our respected former Head of State and Chairman of the National Peace Committee, General Abdulsalami Abubakar GCFR
Eminent members of the National Peace Committee
Your Excellency the Governor of Ondo State
The Inspector-General of Police represented by the DIG (Force CID)
Your Royal Highness, the Chairman of the Ondo State Peace Council
National Commissioners of INEC
The National Chairman of IPAC and his team
The Ondo State Chairman of IPAC
The Chairmen of Political Parties
The Candidates and their Running Mates
The Resident Electoral Commissioner
The Commissioner of Police and other Members of ICCES
Religious Leaders
Civil Society Organisations
The Media
Other invited guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
1.On behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I would like to express our appreciation to the Chairman and members of the National Peace Committee (NPC) for their tireless efforts in bringing parties and candidates together for peaceful elections in Nigeria.
2.Encouraged by the success of the Peace Accord at the national level, the NPC accepted our request to devolve the signing of the Accord beyond the Presidential Election to include off-cycle Governorship Elections in view of the tension and violence before, during and after previous elections. The first Peace Accord outside Abuja was signed in Edo State ahead of the Governorship election held in September 2020. Since then, similar Peace Accords were signed in seven more States, namely Ondo in 2020, Anambra in 2021, Ekiti and Osun in 2022, followed by Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi in 2023. Happily, the elections were held generally peacefully in spite of the tension during the pre-election campaign activities.
3.For Ondo State, therefore, this is the second Peace Accord to be signed by political parties and candidates. Some of you may recall that the first Peace Accord was signed here in Akure at this venue on 6th October 2020. I am glad to note that some of the signatories to the last Peace Accord are also here today as candidates for the Governorship election holding next week. I am also glad to note that so far, there has been no major election-related indent in Ondo State known to INEC. I am confident that with the signing of the Peace Accord today, the proactive measures taken by the security agencies, the roles played by our respected traditional rulers, the community and religious leaders, civil society organisations, the mass media and all other stakeholders, the 2024 Ondo State Governorship election will, by the grace of God, be peaceful.
4.For our part, I want to assure you that we have taken measures to address election day challenges, especially the perennial challenge of logistics. Over the last four days, I have engaged with our own officials, security agencies and transport service providers here in Ondo State to assess our readiness and perfect our arrangements for the movement of over 17,000 ad hoc and regular officials as well as large quantities of materials to 4,154 voting and collation locations (3,933 polling units, 203 Ward and 18 LGA collation centres). In the case of Ondo State, this task is to be accomplished by boat in the two riverine Local Government Areas of Ese Odo and Ilaje, and by a combination of trucks, four wheel vehicles and motorcycles in respect of the mainland areas of the State. You should therefore expect to see a remarkable improvement in Election Day logistics. Voters in Ondo State should also expect to see similar improvement in result management.
5.Finally, I will not be tired of appealing to political parties and candidates to note that your signatures on the Peace Accord document alone will not guarantee a peaceful election. The Peace Accord is not an automated, self-activating document. Your commitment to its implementation is critical. Therefore, as you sign the Peace Accord, you should commit yourselves to its implementation and pass the message to your supporters at all levels for compliance. As I said repeatedly, this is the best way to honour the effort and sacrifice of the Chairman and members of the NPC to peaceful elections in Nigeria.
6.May God continue to bless all our efforts.
GOODWILL MESSAGE BY THE CHAIRMAN, INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC), PROFESSOR MAHMOOD YAKUBU, ON THE OCCASION OF THE SIGNING OF PEACE ACCORD AHEAD OF THE ONDO STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION HELD AT THE INTERNATIONAL CULTURE AND EVENT CENTRE (THE DOME), AKURE, ON… pic.twitter.com/oDCT2AebQq
— INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) November 8, 2024
