Barely 48 hours after campaigns which will usher in a new political dispensation for 2023 began, President Muhammadu Buhari has asserted that he welcomes the initiative undertaken by the National Peace Committee to commit all political actors to issue-based campaigns devoid of incitements, personal insults, and attacks.
He made this known via a video message during the signing of the 2023 election peace accord by the presidentical can did a tesorganised by the National Peace Committee yesterday in Abuja.
Buhari cautioned that the rise of fake news and misinformation have continued to pose a significant threat to democracy in Nigeria.
He submitted that fake news and misinformation have shifted focus away from issue-based campaigns to amplifying the potential for personal attacks, insults, and incitements.
He noted that this has significantly diminished the civility and decency in public discourse and debate.
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Reiterating his commitment to peaceful, credible and transparent elections, President Buhari said what the Peace Committee, led by its chairman and a former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubukar, has been do in gover the years, aligns with his belief that Nigeria needs peace in order to achieve credible elections.
‘The 2023 election is more than an election, it is an opportunity to serve Nigeria, to defend Nigeria and to uphold her unity and progress,’ the president said re-echoing the words of the chairman of the Peace Committee, last week.
He stated, ‘Therefore, I call on all Nigerians, political parties, politicians, security agencies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and all stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria is placed first above regional and sectional claims.’I appeal to the contestants, especially their publicity agents and media advisers, to shun personal attacks, avoid insults and incitements, reject the spread of fake news, and commit to issue-based campaigns and political rallies.
‘Once again, let me emphasise that everything must be done to support the National Peace Committee in its work to ensuring peaceful elections in Nigeria.’
Similarly, President Buhari has urged the judiciary to further sustain rule of law in Nigeria and ensure the integrity of participatory democracy by remaining honest arbiters in pre-and post-election matters.