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.
"INEC is holding the conference in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),’’ he said.
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.’’
