With less than 48 hours to the 2015 presidential elections, President Goodluck Jonathan and the All Progressives Congress,APC, presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, have signed a pledge to accept without rancor, the outcome of Saturday’s election after a closed door meeting held Thursday morning in Abuja.
The meeting, which was brokered by the former Head of State Abdulsalam Abubakar-led National Peace Committee for the 2015 general elections, is intended to forestall the outbreak of electoral violence by supporters of either of the two main contenders in the event that their preferred candidate loses the elections.
The signed pledge made reference to the peace pact that was signed in January alongside nine other party leaders in which the candidates committed to free, fair, and credible elections.
“You may recall that on 14th January 2015, both of us, long with nine other party leaders signed what has now come to be known as the Abuja Accord. The substance of that Accord was our commitment to free, fair and credible elections in our dear country.
“In the Accord, we agreed to, among other things, run an issued based campaign and pledged that our electoral campaigns will not involve any religious incitement, ethnic or tribal profiling, both by ourselves and all agents acting in our names. Now that the campaigns have come to an end, we meet today to renew our pledge for peaceful elections,” the signed pledge read.
The two candidates urged Nigerian citizens and their respective supporters, to eschew all forms of violence or any acts that oppose the vision of a free, fair and credible election.
“We therefore call on all fellow citizens of our dear country, and our part supporters, to refrain from violence or any acts that may in any way jeopardise our collective vision of a free, fair and credible election,” the pledge further stated.
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The candidates also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and all security agencies to ensure strict adherence to their constitutional roles.
Pledging to respect the outcome of free, fair and credible elections, President Jonathan and Buhari jointly renewed their commitment to continue to work for a united, democratic and prosperous Nigeria.
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