Ibadan North by-election: Candidates sign peace accord ahead of August poll

By Adejayan Gbenga –

Candidates contesting the August 16 Ibadan North Federal Constituency by-election in Oyo State have signed a peace accord to ensure a peaceful, free, fair, and transparent electoral process.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ibadan. It was witnessed by the Oyo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Adeniran Tella; the State Commissioner of Police, Femi Aruna; and representatives of the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Department of State Services (DSS), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and National Orientation Agency (NOA).

Those who signed the accord include Akin Alamu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Haastrup Olatunji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Olabisi Odususi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sunday Oyekunle of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Hammed Badmus of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

In his remarks, Dr. Tella said the peace accord was designed to create a conducive environment for voters and strengthen the credibility of the electoral process. He noted that INEC had worked closely with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), led by the Commissioner of Police, to ensure smooth conduct of the exercise.

The REC urged all political parties to adhere strictly to the agreement and to avoid any form of voter intimidation. He disclosed that all non-sensitive election materials had been deployed to the constituency, which has 272,196 registered voters across 512 polling units.

He further revealed that 526 Bimodal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS) machines had been configured for the election, with 48 backups, and that both BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) would be used for real-time result uploads.

APC candidate Haastrup Olatunji commended INEC and security agencies for their preparations ahead of the poll.

Similarly, PDP candidate Sunday Oyekunle called for a truly free, fair, and transparent election.