KANO — Prominent All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Dr Musa Illiyasu Kwankwaso, has described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s endorsement of the 2027 Peace Accord as a signal of his commitment to peaceful and credible elections.
Kwankwaso said the President’s support for an agreement aimed at committing political parties and their candidates to peaceful campaigns demonstrated what he described as Tinubu’s respect for democracy and the electoral process.
In a statement personally signed and issued to journalists on Wednesday, Kwankwaso said the President’s position on the peace initiative, alongside what he described as the administration’s development record, provided grounds for Nigerians to give Tinubu another opportunity to consolidate his programmes.
“President Tinubu has demonstrated that he is a democrat who believes in the democratic process and the right of Nigerians to freely choose their leaders,” Kwankwaso said.
He said Tinubu’s decision to associate himself with the peace initiative was significant given Nigeria’s history of electoral violence and political tensions during some election cycles.
Kwankwaso also cited the President’s conduct following the recent Osun State governorship election as evidence of his willingness to respect the choice of voters.
He urged political parties, candidates and their supporters to reciprocate the President’s position by embracing issue-based campaigns and rejecting violence, intimidation and inflammatory rhetoric ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to him, the credibility of the 2027 elections would depend not only on the actions of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies but also on the conduct of political actors and their supporters.
Beyond the peace accord, Kwankwaso said the Tinubu administration had, over the past three years, undertaken projects and interventions in infrastructure, security, transportation, energy, healthcare and agriculture.
He specifically mentioned major road and railway projects, the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline and other federal investments in northern Nigeria.
The APC chieftain argued that the scale of the projects and interventions should form part of the assessment of the administration as Nigerians approach the 2027 elections.
He urged Nigerians, particularly those in the North, to distinguish between legitimate criticism of government policies and what he described as politically motivated narratives.
Kwankwaso said Tinubu should be given the opportunity to consolidate the administration’s programmes, while urging political actors to prioritise national stability and peaceful democratic competition.
