Former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, announced on Thursday that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) declined to sign the peace accord for the upcoming Edo governorship election.
The event took place in Benin, where several political parties were expected to commit to maintaining peace during the election process.
Abubakar disclosed that the PDP made it clear they would only sign the accord if certain conditions were met.
“I met the governor yesterday and he told me the PDP are not going to sign this peace accord,” he said.
“They had made some observations, and I was expecting the chairman of the PDP to come and make that statement.
“Having waited for him this long, he chose to announce that the PDP said they are not going to sign, and they have got some conditionalities,” he added.
While the chairman of the PDP in the state did not provide details on the party’s decision at the event, Governor Godwin Obaseki hinted at the party’s stance earlier.
He mentioned that the PDP might not participate in the peace accord signing when he met with members of the National Peace Committee.
“The PDP has concerns that need to be addressed before we can commit to signing the accord,” Obaseki said on Wednesday.
The PDP’s candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, did not sign the accord.
However, other candidates, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Senator Monday Okpebholo and Labour Party candidate Olumide Akpata, signed the peace agreement in a bid to ensure a peaceful election on September 21, 2024.
Before now, the PDP had raised an alarm over the arbitrary arrests of its chieftains by police operatives to weaken its support base ahead of the election.
Let them release the arrested members from police custody