Edo Election: PDP Refuses To Sign Peace Accord with Major Opposition Parties

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has refused to sign the peace accord for the Edo State gubernatorial election scheduled for Saturday, September 21, 2024.

This was disclosed on Thursday by the former Head of State, Abdulsalam Abubakar, who said the PDP would not be signing the peace accord if certain conditions were not met.

I met the governor yesterday, and he told me the PDP will not sign this peace accord,” he said.

“They had made some observations, and I was expecting the chairman of the PDP to come and make that statement. Having waited for him this long, he announced that the PDP said they were not going to sign and they had some conditionalities.

“They said that after these conditionalities have been met, they will come to Abuja and sign,” he added.

In a corroborative tone, on Wednesday, Governor Godwin Obaseki said his party, the PDP might not sign the accord. The governor spoke about the likelihood of this when he met with members of the National Peace Committee.

While speaking to the Committee, Obaseki said, “Until the 60 supporters and 10 members of the party arrested by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, are released, the party might not sign the peace accord.”

Until everyone arrested in Edo is released or brought back to Edo to be tried for whatever offences they claimed to have committed, how can we sign the peace accord,” he said, adding, “We have no confidence that the Police is going to protect us.”

Meanwhile, the PDP and its candidate for the election, Asue Ighodalo, did not sign. Other parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Monday Okpebholo and the Labour Party’s candidate, Olumide Akpata, signed the accord.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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