Tinubu's Absence from Peace Accord Signing Was a Mistake, Says SDP Candidate

Adewole Adebayo, the 2027 presidential candidate for Nigeria's Social Democratic Party (SDP), asserts that lasting peace in the nation's electoral process hinges on justice, transparency, and strict adherence to the law. Speaking after the signing of the 2027 Electoral Peace Accord, Adebayo urged political parties and candidates to view the agreement not as a concession, but as a commitment to lawful conduct.

Adebayo specifically criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's absence from the peace accord ceremony. He described the president's failure to attend personally as sending a detrimental signal to Nigerians and law enforcement agencies. Adebayo believes that true electoral peace is unattainable without justice, where all participants, including the government, respect the law, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) operates with genuine independence.

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Basically, what I committed to is what the law says: elections must be based on issues. We have always campaigned on issues. We do not attack personalities, and we do not campaign against identities. We do not use identity to campaign. There is no issue of religion, ethnicity and all of that. We totally avoid hate speech, and we don’t use bad language. We don’t use fake news. We don’t use false propaganda, and we try as much as possible to comply with the Electoral Act in terms of how to conduct rallies. We totally avoid violence. We don’t use thugs. We don’t pay thugs. We don’t buy votes, and we don’t sell votes. We don’t do money politics. We respect the office that we are running for, and we conduct ourselves as if we have already taken the oath of office for that position. That is what I signed, and that is what I am committed to. I signed not only with my hand; I signed with my heart, and I intend to live up to it.

During the interview, Adebayo detailed his commitment to the accord, which includes campaigning on issues rather than personalities, avoiding hate speech, fake news, and propaganda. He pledged to comply with the Electoral Act, shun violence and thugs, refrain from vote-buying, and conduct himself with the decorum expected of someone already holding office. He commended the Peace Committee for its dedication to pursuing national objectives for peace.

Adebayo also advocated for enhanced independence for INEC and stressed the need for political neutrality from security agencies such as the police, Department of State Services (DSS), civil defense, and the military during elections. He believes that voters should be free to cast their ballots according to their conscience without undue influence or coercion.

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The reason why we have not managed to have peace so far is that peace is impossible without justice. Electoral justice will bring peace automatically in a system where every player in the electoral process follows the law; where the government of the day does not put its thumb on the scale; where INEC is truly independent and follows the mandate given to it to conduct free, fair and credible elections; and where voters vote according to their conscience and consciousness.