BY Dyepkazah Shibayan
The Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy, a civil society organisation (CSO), says the national peace committee (NPC) must ensure that the peace accord signed by political parties before the just-concluded elections is still in effect.
In January, Abdulsalami Abubakar, former head of state and NPC chair, as well as other members of the committee led presidential candidates of the various political parties to sign agreements committing to maintaining peace ahead of the elections.
In a statement on Sunday, Ifeanyi Okechukwu, the CSO’s coordinator, said the committee has not done enough to ensure that there is peace despite the disputes following the keenly-contested election.
“It is our considered view that the national peace committee has failed in a very crucial area concerning the elections,” he said.
“The failure to issue a statement on the role of the judiciary and what Nigeria expects from the judiciary is an inglorious statement on the process of election in Nigeria.
“Without a doubt, elections have three clear steps in Nigeria, and they are primary elections, general elections, and litigation on the elections. Of the three, the last is the most decisive.
“Accordingly, we call on the national peace committee to quickly address this gap in its engagements. It must be stressed that every Nigerian is looking up to the judiciary. What it means is that the national peace committee must be alert to its responsibilities.
“In other words, we are calling on the group to effectively focus its bright lights on the judiciary because its actions or inactions can undermine the atmosphere of peace and stability that has been engendered by political actors keeping to the terms of the peace accord they signed before the elections.”
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