Tinubu, Obi, Sowore, Others Sign National Peace Accord Ahead of 2027 General Elections
President Bola Tinubu, alongside leading opposition presidential candidates Peter Obi and Omoyele Sowore, joined political leaders and party officials in Abuja on Tuesday to sign the first National Peace Accord ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections. The signing ceremony took place at the International Conference Centre, coming a day before INEC’s official campaign period for the presidential and National Assembly elections was set to begin on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. The event was organised by the National Peace Committee and brought together representatives of numerous political parties, presidential candidates for governorship and National Assembly seats, and senior electoral officials
The National Peace Committee is chaired by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, with Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah serving as its convener. The gathering also drew the presence of INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan. President Tinubu was not personally present at the ceremony, being represented instead by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, who signed the accord on the President’s behalf. Akume signed alongside the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda. Notably, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, was absent from the event along with his party.
Other presidential candidates in attendance included the Nigeria Democratic Congress’s Peter Obi, the African Action Congress’s Omoyele Sowore, and the Social Democratic Party’s Adewole Adebayo. Organisers described the accord as more than a ceremonial document, explaining that it is anchored on the Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC guidelines and other laws governing Nigeria’s electoral process, with the overarching goal of preventing political competition from degenerating into violence, intimidation and misinformation capable of undermining the country’s democracy.
Speaking at the event, Peter Obi expressed confidence about the road ahead, stating that he had no fears heading into the 2027 election. He went further to urge Nigerians not to cast their votes for any candidate or party that violates the terms of the peace agreement, arguing that voter rejection should serve as the primary consequence for any breach. He also called on all contestants to conduct themselves in a manner befitting the office they seek, tying ethical campaign conduct directly to the credibility of eventual electoral outcomes.
Omoyele Sowore struck a notably more skeptical tone during the ceremony, dismissing the accord as a mere “ritual” and calling instead for concrete sanctions to be imposed on violators. Referencing the violence and deaths recorded during the August 15 Osun State governorship election, Sowore stated plainly that he had no faith in the accord itself, drawing a distinction between his own commitment to bringing faith to the democratic system and confidence in the accord’s actual enforceability. He proposed the introduction of what he termed a “Justice Accord,” under which candidates and parties found to have breached the peace agreement would face direct sanctions rather than symbolic condemnation alone.
Additional political parties represented at the ceremony included the Labour Party, the Democratic Leadership Alliance, the National Democratic Party, the National Rescue Movement and the Social Democratic Party, alongside the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party. The broad turnout across the political spectrum, despite the notable absences of both Tinubu and Atiku in person, reflected the continued significance many stakeholders continue to attach to formal peace commitments ahead of major electoral contests in Nigeria, particularly given the security concerns that have already emerged following recent state-level elections earlier in the year.
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