On Tuesday, the presidency responded to a statement made by Catholic Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto.
Kukah claimed that President Bola Tinubu did not sign the peace accord for the 2023 presidential election. During a security meeting in Benin on Sunday, Kukah mentioned that Tinubu did not participate in the tradition of signing the peace accord, which aims to ensure a peaceful election for all political parties and candidates. Kukah also noted that the current president did not sign the peace accord when he was a presidential candidate. The Catholic Bishop said it wasn’t their fault that the political opposition didn’t make use of it
Some Nigerians are now questioning the truth of the Bishop’s statement. In a short statement on Tuesday, President’s Media and Strategy Adviser, Bayo Onanuga, said that Kukah’s statement was wrong. He mentioned that President Tinubu signed two peace agreements before the 2023 election. The first agreement, which promised a fair and honest election, was signed on September 29, 2022. Vice President Kashim Shettima stood in for Tinubu.
The second agreement, which was signed on February 23, 2023, was about the candidates agreeing to respect the election results. Tinubu signed the agreement,” Onanuga explained. Before the February 25 election, candidates from different political parties met at the International Conference Centre in Abuja to sign an agreement for a peaceful and fair election. Peter Obi from the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were there. Rabiu Kwankwaso from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Omoyele Sowore from the African Action Congress (AAC) were also present. However, it was reported that Tinubu was not in Nigeria, as he was currently in the United Kingdom.
