The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for failing to attend the signing of the National Peace Accord ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Adebayo said the President’s absence from Tuesday’s ceremony in Abuja sent the wrong signal to political actors, law enforcement agencies and government officials about his commitment to the peace process.

He spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.

“President Tinubu not showing up today, he is showing that he is not committed to peace. He is sending a wrong signal to law enforcement, for the people who work for the government, that the President looks like he is not committed enough,” Adebayo said.

The SDP’s flagbearer urged the President to explain his absence and publicly reaffirm his commitment to ensuring a peaceful electoral process.

“So, he needs to correct that by making a clear statement explaining why he is absent and making sure that he makes a statement committing himself to the peace process.

“There is no issue of state grandeur than the President showing that democracy is important. There is no more national security than the continuity of the state. The state has to exist and a free, fair and credible election is important for establishing civil government,” he added.

The SDP candidate recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari attended the signing of the accord four years ago, despite not being a candidate in the election at the time.

“Four years ago he [Tinubu] was around, and President Buhari, who was not even contesting, was around. It is good for you as a leader that you believe in a peace process,” Adebayo said.

Asked about the President’s representation at Tuesday’s event by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, Adebayo dismissed the arrangement as inadequate.

“Oh please, this is an insult to the process. The SGF is not involved in the election. You have your Vice President who could come.

“I don’t see any reason why President Tinubu, who works and lives in Abuja and who has the influence on influencing the date when the thing will be signed and who has given assurance that he will come, I see that President Tinubu has been missing in action,” he said.

Presidential candidates and political party representatives on Tuesday signed the National Peace Accord in Abuja ahead of the 2027 general elections. The accord, organised by the National Peace Committee, commits political actors to peaceful conduct and issue-based campaigns before, during and after the elections.

Peter Obi, Omoyele Sowore, Donald Duke and other candidates participated in the ceremony, which the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Joash Amupitan and other stakeholders attended. Obi called for credible and violence-free elections, urging Nigerians to reject candidates who breach the agreement.

Amupitan reaffirmed INEC’s neutrality and urged parties to focus on policies rather than personal attacks, saying the election should be a “marketplace of ideas, not a theatre of war.”

He said preparations were advancing for the deployment of about 1.4 million ad hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units. Bishop Matthew Kukah also urged leaders to ensure elections produce measurable improvements in citizens’ lives and encouraged greater public participation. (Channels TV)

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