Former Head of State retired Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar on Tuesday said all presidential candidates were invited for the signing of peace accord in Abuja.
Abubakar was reacting to a report credited to the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, that he did not get a formal invitation to the signing.
Speaking to journalists at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abubakar, who is the Chairman of the National Peace Committee, said: “Speaking for the National Peace Committee, everybody was invited. What reason do we have not to invite somebody?
“This accord was called for all political parties to sign to be of good behaviour during elections. Either there is a breakdown of communication somewhere I don’t know.’’
“What surprises me is that when we had the first meeting with political parties to come out and agree on this agenda, the parties agreed and it was on that day the decision was taken to sign the accord today.’’
But the PDP said it was not represented due to communication lapse between the National Peace Committee (NPC) and the party’s national secretariat.
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In a statement from the PDP spokesman Kola Ologbondiayan, the party said it was already conducting investigations into the circumstances that could have resulted in the unfortunate communication lapse.
“Nevertheless, it is instructive to state that our Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the party are fully committed to a peaceful electoral process and elections in 2019,” the statement read.
“Our Presidential candidate is known worldwide as a global ambassador of peace, who will always support processes that will engender peace in our country and the world over.”
It also read: “In the same vein, our party is also known for peaceful conduct in all activities, electoral processes and all elections conducted at all levels in our country, since its inception in 1998.
“The PDP will therefore visit the office of the National Peace Committee, look into the peace document and fulfill all necessary obligations toward the peace accord ahead of the 2019 general elections.’’
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