Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2027 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has said that the history of non-participation by the All Progressives Party (APC) in peace Accord agreement, formed the reason why he resolved to skip the recent signing ceremony of the National Peace Accord.
Atiku, who stated this when he received in audience members of the Council of the Wise from the Savannah Centre for Democracy, Diplomacy and Development, headed by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, explained that his past experiences with the peace pact left him disillusioned.
He said while the opposition groups consistently carried the burden of compliance, the ruling APC usually opted out, thus his decision to opt out of the stakeholder engagements ahead of the 2027 polls.
The Justice Olukayode Ariwoola-led team visited Atiku as part of encouragement of all presidential candidates to champion peaceful, credible, and issue-driven political campaigns.
The discussion centered mainly on the National Peace Accord, which was co-hosted in Abuja on August 18, by the National Peace Committee and the Kukah Centre to bind political platforms and candidates to peaceful electoral conduct.
At the event, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume while Mr. Peter Obi, Prince Adewole Adebayo and Omoyele Sowore participated in the peace agreement.
While explaining his absence to the Ariwoola-led delegation, Atiku noted that safeguarding peaceful and transparent elections goes beyond the obligations of politicians alone, stressing that all arms of government carry a heavy duty in the process.
Atiku referenced his past legal contests with former President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007, saying that he successfully challenged presidential actions in court without requiring personal contact with judges, even as he expressed concerns over the current judicial landscape in the country.
The former Vice President affirmed his readiness to collaborating with the Council of the Wise and emphasized the absolute necessity of a level playing field for the 2027 electoral contest.
Atiku advised members of the council to maintain candid and uncompromising dialogues with political actors regardless of media presence.
Speaking earlier during the visit, Justice Ariwoola congratulated Atiku on securing the presidential ticket of the ADC and appealed for a campaign devoid of hate speech, inflammatory rhetoric, or actions that could trigger public unrest.
