Political parties in Niger signed a peace agreement, committing themselves to a peaceful, transparent and credible elections in the state.
The parties signed the agreement at a meeting convened by the Niger Police Commissioner, Adamu Elleman, ahead Local Government elections scheduled for Nov. 1.
This is contained in a statement issued by the
spokesperson of the Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, in Minna
The political parties and their aspirants were led by the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) Chairman, Niger chapter, Alhaji Isah Makujeri.
Other stakeholders included: the Chairman, Niger Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC), Mohammed Imam, Special Adviser to the state governor on Political Affairs, Nma Kolo.
Also in attendance were: the representatives of other security agencies, ACs and DPOs of the Command.
In his remarks, the CP stated that the gathering was aimed at fostering maturity, responsibility and collective commitment to peace by all the stakeholders.
He also spelt out the terms and conditions as provided in the peace accord to ensure credible elections.
The CP added that the command and other security agencies in partnership with the NSIEC have made comprehensive arrangements to provide a secured and peaceful environment for the election.
Elleman urged the youths and party supporters to be ambassadors of peace by refraining from being used as tools for electoral violence.
He also added that the constitutional duty of the Police was to protect and not to intimidate and as such, rest assured of the Command’s readiness to exhibit professionalism and provide security before, during and after the election.
In his remarks, Imam commended the cooperation of all parties so far.
He said that an 15-point agenda was developed which contained guidelines for the election process.
“The agenda is aimed at producing 24 Local Government chairmen and 274 councillors from 4,950 fifty polling units
He enjoined all participants to take the accord signing seriously and abide by its provisions as it was an oath.
The NSIEC chairman also commended the IPAC for their role as mediators.
He assured that adequate measures had been put in place by SIEC and security agencies.
Also, the IPAC chairman, commended NSIEC for giving an ample time of six months to make necessary preparations and also appreciated key stakeholders, stating that elections process in the state had been peaceful so far.
He stressed that in line with the mandate of Gov. Muhammad Bago, it is expected that whoever wins the election should be declared a winner to ensure a smooth and credible process.
Makujeri also commended the Police for the successful conduct of Munya bye-election and hoped that the upcoming Local Government elections would even be more peaceful.
Some contributions, observations and suggestions were made by the participants which were addressed accordingly by the NSIEC chairman and the CP.
Some of the suggestions, contributions and observations were addressed before the peace accord was read out to the hearing of all by the Command’s Legal Officer, CSP Jude Akaeze