Ten political parties, on Monday, signed a peace accord ahead of the local government election slated for Saturday in Delta State.
The peace accord was signed at the headquarters of the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission, DSIEC, in the presence of the state Commissioner of Police, Abaniwonda Olufemi, representatives of other law enforcement agencies in the state and the Inter-Party Advisory Council.
The Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress, Labour Party and some other political parties and chairmanship candidates took part in the exercise.
The DSIEC Chairman, Jerry Agbaike, urged participating political parties to conduct themselves with decorum and avoid verbal altercations that bother on hate speech, blackmail and vendetta.
Agbaike said, “So far we are impressed with the conduct of the ten participating political parties and this is not surprising because Deltans are generally peaceful. Peace is an integral part of our culture. We are however not unmindful of the need to translate this enviable peace quality into paper which is the essence of this Peace Accord
“Participating political parties must conduct themselves with decorum and endeavour to avoid verbal altercations that bother on hate speech, blackmail and vendetta as these are the ingredients that provoke anger and incite violence.
“Other vices that incite violence include thuggery, ballot box snatching etc. We should embrace the outcome of election results and congratulate one another and if the need arises seek peaceful resolution at the relevant law courts. As you can see, the seriousness of this Peace Accord is evinced by the eminent presence of Heads of security agencies in the state.
“They have the wherewithal and advanced technology to comb the security-elections nexus, anticipate, plan and put in place strategies to neutralize or diminish potential risks posed for the conduct of the 2024 elections”
