Kogi, Bayelsa governorship candidates to sign peace accord

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would hold a peace accord conference for contestants of the forthcoming Kogi and Bayelsa gubernatorial elections.

INEC Deputy Director, Publicity Nick Dazang made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.

Dazang said the conference for Bayelsa had been scheduled for Nov. 10, while that of Kogi would be held on Nov. 18 alongside with the state’s stakeholders’ forum.

"A peace accord is going to be signed by the contestants in both Kogi and Bayelsa. The idea is to commit the contestants and followers to peace.

He said that the exercise was necessary as both Kogi and Bayelsa were part of the states recognised as `flash points’.

"Already, there are reports of people stockpiling arms in the two states, but we have not confirmed the authenticity of these reports.

"One of the Civil Society Organisations we work with- the Transition Monitoring Group- has alleged that there is a stock pile of arms in one of the local governments in Kogi and about two in Bayelsa.’’

Dazang said that the commission had called the attention of appropriate authorities to the reports.

"It will be recalled that before now, there have been reported cases of election violence in both Kogi and Bayelsa states.

"So, in addition to the other proactive measures that we have taken is by the way of engaging the stakeholders.

"We now want to do this particular symbiotic measure by holding the contestants to peace accord.’’