Presidential candidates and leaders of political parties contesting Nigeria’s 2027 general elections have signed a National Peace Accord, pledging to conduct their campaigns peacefully and reject violence, hate speech, misinformation and other forms of conduct capable of threatening the country’s democratic process.

The accord was signed on Tuesday in Abuja under the auspices of the National Peace Committee (NPC), in collaboration with The Kukah Centre, less than 24 hours before the official commencement of the 2027 electioneering campaign on Wednesday, August 19.

The agreement places renewed focus on the responsibility of political parties, candidates, campaign organisations and their supporters to ensure that competition for political power does not degenerate into violence or deepen Nigeria’s existing ethnic, religious and political divisions.

However, the absence of some of the country’s most prominent presidential candidates, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate was noticeable at the ceremony.

Tinubu was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, while other presidential candidates, including Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC), attended.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, as well as senior representatives of the security establishment, were also present.

The signing of the accord comes at a particularly sensitive moment in Nigeria’s political calendar.

Campaigns for the 2027 elections officially begin on Wednesday, August 19, setting the stage for months of intense political mobilisation ahead of the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, and the governorship and State House of Assembly elections scheduled for February 6, 2027.

With political parties already engaged in aggressive mobilisation, defections, coalition-building, litigation and the consolidation of electoral structures, concerns have grown over the possibility of political competition escalating into violence.

The National Peace Committee said the agreement was therefore designed to establish clear boundaries for political competition before the campaign season gathers momentum.

The organisers stressed that the accord was not intended to be merely symbolic or ceremonial.

Rather, they said it was anchored on Nigeria’s Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC regulations and other laws governing the electoral process.

The objective is to ensure that political competition remains within democratic and legal boundaries.

Obi: Nigerians Should Punish Politicians Who Violate Accord

Speaking shortly before signing the agreement, NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi argued that politicians should not need a peace accord to behave responsibly.

For Obi, seeking the highest political offices in the country should come with an obligation to demonstrate exemplary conduct.

He nevertheless urged Nigerians to hold politicians accountable if they breach their commitments.

Asked what punishment should await candidates or parties that violate the accord, Obi gave a direct answer:

“The punishment is that Nigerians should not vote for them.”

He said political leaders must understand that the titles associated with public office require corresponding standards of conduct.

“You can’t answer ‘His Excellency’ without being an excellent person,” Obi said.

He also used the occasion to make another appeal for a credible 2027 election in which voters would have confidence that their ballots would determine the outcome.

“I don’t have any fear going into next year’s election except to say that, please, for the sake of the children of Nigeria, can we have an election where people’s votes will count?” he asked.

The former Anambra State governor also expressed concern over deaths recorded during the recently concluded Osun State governorship election.

According to Obi, political competition should never become a reason for Nigerians to lose their lives.

“We should comfort their families, and we should remain prayerful and conduct ourselves in a way that in our democracy, nobody needs to die for an election,” he said.

‘We Don’t Even Need to Sign This’

Obi went further to question the necessity of signing a peace agreement in the first place.

He argued that politicians who aspire to lead a country should naturally understand the responsibility to conduct themselves peacefully and responsibly.

“We don’t even need to sign this. We’re seeking an office where we should be exemplary,” he said.

Asked whether he still believed in Nigeria’s electoral process despite his concerns, Obi said his participation was driven by the desire to change the system.

“Because I want to change the process, I have to go through it. So, I have to believe in it,” he said.

His remarks capture one of the central challenges facing the 2027 election: political actors are being asked to compete within an electoral system that some of them have repeatedly criticised.

National Peace Committee Warns Against Weaponising Politics

The Project Manager of the National Peace Committee at The Kukah Centre, Asabe Ndaye, said the accord represented a public commitment by political parties and candidates to peaceful competition, democratic accountability, respect for the rule of law and the will of voters.

She said the committee had convened electoral stakeholders in March 2026 and provided legal annotations to the agreement to ensure that political actors understood the obligations and consequences associated with its provisions.

“The Peace Accord is a public commitment by political parties and candidates to peaceful political competition, respect for the rule of law, democratic accountability and the will of the people,” Ndaye said.

She warned that the agreement would be meaningless if politicians signed it publicly but encouraged conduct that violated its principles privately.

The committee specifically expects candidates, party chairmen, campaign spokespersons, officials and supporters to refrain from creating, publishing, disseminating, endorsing or knowingly amplifying fake news and misinformation intended to provoke violence or undermine electoral integrity.

Ndaye said existing laws already provide sanctions for conduct involving violence, intimidation, inflammatory rhetoric and the promotion of ethnic, religious or sectional division.

She said the National Peace Committee had facilitated 31 peace accords since its establishment.

One of the most striking aspects of the committee’s presentation was its assessment of violations recorded during the 2023 electoral cycle.

Ndaye disclosed that 43 per cent of recorded breaches of the previous peace accord were connected to the commitment to issue-based campaigns.

Another 13.5 per cent involved provisions against insults and violence, while nine per cent related to fake news and disinformation.

The figures highlight the gap between the commitments political actors make before elections and their conduct once campaigns become more competitive.

Ndaye said 58 per cent of violations relating to issue-based campaigns were attributed to party spokespersons, with 22 states affected.

Among the states identified were Kaduna, Plateau, Kano, Lagos, Rivers and Benue.

The warning is particularly relevant ahead of the 2027 campaign, where social media, artificial intelligence-generated content and highly organised online political networks are expected to play an even greater role.

“Political language is not just communication. In a tense electoral environment, it can actually become a risk signal,” Ndaye warned.

2,510 Security Incidents Recorded

The National Peace Committee also disclosed a worrying security picture ahead of the 2027 elections.

According to Ndaye, the committee’s Election Security Information (ESI) Hub recorded 2,510 security incidents between June 2025 and August 2026.

Zamfara, Borno, Kaduna, Niger, Benue and Plateau were among the states identified as particularly affected by insecurity, including banditry, kidnapping and terrorism.

The ESI Hub also recorded 381 electoral offences during the period.

The Federal Capital Territory, Osun, Oyo and Lagos were among locations where significant electoral incidents were recorded.

The threats identified include:

vote buying;

political violence;

thuggery;

physical attacks;

intimidation;

misinformation;

party conflicts;

electoral malpractice; and

voter suppression.

These figures provide an important warning ahead of the 2027 election: electoral violence rarely begins on election day.

Ndaye said tensions often develop much earlier through disputed party primaries, defections, factional disputes, nomination battles, litigation, inflammatory rhetoric and political realignment.

She urged political parties and candidates to identify and address these tensions before they become violent conflicts.

INEC: ‘Elections Are Not Total Wars’

INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan used the occasion to issue perhaps the clearest warning of the day.

He said elections should not be treated as existential battles in which political opponents are viewed as enemies.

“Electoral contests in a constitutional democracy are not total wars; they are competitive job interviews before the electorate,” Amupitan said.

The INEC chairman urged political parties to turn the 2027 campaign into a “marketplace of ideas”, where candidates explain not only what they intend to do but also how they intend to achieve their objectives.

He expressed concern over the growing use of hate speech, toxic political polarisation, misinformation and personality-driven campaigns.

According to him, political discourse is increasingly moving away from discussions about policy and governance towards character assassination, identity-based mobilisation and inflammatory rhetoric.

He urged candidates to address issues such as economic growth, insecurity, infrastructure, healthcare, education and social inclusion.

Amupitan also disclosed details of INEC’s preparations for the 2027 election.

According to him, the commission is preparing to deploy approximately 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across more than 176,000 polling units.

He said INEC had spent the past eight months working on technology, logistics and personnel training.

But the commission’s chairman stressed that technological improvements alone could not guarantee credible elections.

Political actors, he said, must also demonstrate responsibility.

“It is not the signatures written on this Accord today that preserve democracy; it is the character of the leaders who hold the pen,” Amupitan said.

That statement goes to the heart of the challenge confronting the peace initiative.

A peace accord can establish expectations, but it cannot by itself prevent violence if political parties and their supporters are unwilling to respect the rules.

The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, represented at the ceremony by Deputy Inspector-General Umar Shehu, also warned political actors against actions capable of destabilising the electoral environment.

Disu said election security should not be viewed as something that begins on election day.

Rather, he said it is built throughout the electoral cycle through the conduct of political parties, candidates, supporters and security agencies.

He warned against ethnic mobilisation, religious division, intimidation, hatred and violence.

The police chief also cautioned political parties against recruiting armed groups, criminal elements or individuals carrying illegal firearms to intimidate political opponents.

His warning was particularly significant given Nigeria’s history of political thuggery and the use of informal armed groups during elections.

“You cannot publicly preach peace while privately encouraging violence,” he said.

Disu also urged political parties to take responsibility for the conduct of their supporters and campaign organisations.

He called for greater inclusion of women, young people, persons with disabilities and other groups that have traditionally remained underrepresented in Nigerian politics.

Representing President Tinubu, SGF George Akume said the President and the APC were committed to the principles contained in the accord.

Akume commended the National Peace Committee and described peaceful elections as essential to democratic stability.

He pointed to technological developments such as permanent voter cards and biometric voter accreditation as measures that have strengthened election management.

He nevertheless urged political parties to avoid ethnic and religious rhetoric and focus instead on policies capable of improving the lives of Nigerians.

“As the campaign season kicks off, I commit myself and my party, the All Progressives Congress, to the tenets of this accord,” Akume said.

He said the APC rejected violence, hate speech, misinformation, including AI-generated misinformation, and incitement on social media.

Not every opposition candidate was convinced that signing another peace agreement would be sufficient.

SDP presidential candidate Adewole Adebayo questioned the practical value of the accord, arguing that previous agreements had been violated without adequate consequences.

He also raised concerns about the independence and conduct of government institutions, security agencies and INEC.

Adebayo argued that a credible election requires more than promises from politicians.

According to him, government institutions must also operate independently, transparently and in accordance with the law.

His intervention highlights a broader issue: peaceful elections depend not only on whether candidates refrain from violence, but also on whether citizens believe the electoral process itself is fair.

Where political actors believe institutions are biased, tensions can escalate even without direct physical violence.

The recent Osun governorship election also featured prominently in discussions surrounding the accord.

The poll was followed by allegations of violence, political intimidation and attacks involving supporters of rival political parties.

For observers of the 2027 electoral cycle, Osun provides a timely reminder of how quickly political tensions can escalate around a closely contested election.

The National Peace Committee’s decision to highlight early-warning mechanisms is therefore significant.

The committee says it is monitoring developments before they become full-blown crises, including political defections, party disputes, litigation, misinformation and inflammatory political messaging.

That approach could prove crucial as the 2027 contest becomes more intense.

What the Peace Accord Really Means for 2027

The significance of Tuesday’s agreement goes beyond the ceremony itself.

Nigeria has conducted numerous elections in which political actors signed agreements promising peaceful campaigns, only for tensions to escalate later.

The real test of the 2027 accord will therefore not be the signatures captured on camera in Abuja.

It will be whether political parties respect its provisions when the stakes become higher, candidates begin attacking one another, supporters become emotionally invested and allegations of electoral malpractice emerge.

The responsibility also extends beyond presidential candidates.

Party spokespersons, governors, lawmakers, campaign directors, social media influencers and grassroots supporters can all contribute to either escalating or reducing political tensions.

The same applies to security agencies and electoral officials.

A peaceful election requires political neutrality, credible electoral administration, responsible security deployment, accurate information and confidence that legitimate grievances can be resolved through lawful channels.

The 2027 election will be one of the most consequential electoral contests in Nigeria’s recent history.

With political alliances already shifting and major parties preparing for a fiercely contested campaign, the potential for political competition to become confrontational remains high.

The National Peace Committee has now drawn the boundaries.

INEC has issued its warning.

The police have made their expectations clear.

Political parties have signed the document.

The question is whether these commitments will survive the pressures of an increasingly competitive campaign.

Nigeria does not merely need an election without widespread violence. It needs an election in which political opponents can compete fiercely without becoming enemies, voters can make choices without intimidation, and losing candidates can pursue legitimate legal remedies without calling their supporters to the streets.

The ultimate measure of Tuesday’s Peace Accord, therefore, will come not in Abuja but across Nigeria’s communities, polling units and political spaces in the months ahead.

The signatures have been made. The real test begins with the campaign.