The Chairman National Peace Committee (NPC) and former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar said the committee facilitated 30 peace accords since 2015, including five at the national level and 25 at the sub-national level covering states with off-cycle elections.

The chairman revealed this at the signing of the Peace Accord on issue-based campaigns, organised by the NPC.

He said the committee had also established independent, state-based peace architecture in 23 states to complement its work at the national level.

According to him, the issue-based campaign accord was first established in 2019 to encourage political actors to focus their campaigns on issues affecting Nigerians rather than sentiments, personal attacks and character assassination.

“Political campaigns have taken away civility and decency in public discourse and conversations and have created a toxic atmosphere that has the potential to incite citizens against the state, against other political parties and candidates,” Abubakar said.

He explained that the accord had been annotated to link its provisions to the Constitution, the Electoral Act and other relevant laws, thereby reinforcing the legal and civic responsibilities of political actors.

The former Head of State appealed to political parties, chairmen, candidates, campaign councils and spokespersons to avoid fake news, personal insults and attacks, while promoting tolerance, civility and respect for opposing views.

He also highlighted the role of its Election Security Information (ESI) Hub, which monitors election-related offences and wider security developments across the country.

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, urged political office seekers to ensure that their conduct and utterances reflected the offices they sought.

Obi said candidates should maintain high standards of behaviour and focus their campaigns on the challenges confronting Nigerians.

“We must, for the sake of this country, ensure that our conduct and behaviour reflect the office we’re seeking,” he said.

He argued that the credibility of a peace accord ultimately depended on the personal conduct of political candidates,

According to him, exemplary leadership should go beyond the ceremonial signing of agreements.

Obi also expressed concern over deaths recorded during previous elections, including the Osun governorship election, stressing that no political ambition should result in the loss of human lives.

“Nobody needs to die for an election. It shouldn’t be,” he said, while urging political actors to conduct themselves responsibly.

On calls for a separate “justice accord” to punish violators of peace agreements, Obi said the ultimate sanction should come from voters.

“The punishment is that Nigerians should not vote for them,” he said.