Some political party chairmen in Osun State have called on political stakeholders to embrace peaceful campaigns ahead of the August 15 governorship election, while expressing reservations over a proposed peace summit being organised by a coalition identified as “The Democrat.”
The concerns were contained in a communiqué issued on Thursday by the Concerned Leadership of Political Party Chairmen in Osun State and signed by Comrade Olalekan Enoch.
According to the statement, the group comprises leaders of political parties including the Action People’s Party (APP), Young Progressives Party (YPP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and other political platforms operating in the state.
The party chairmen questioned the inclusiveness and intention behind the proposed peace summit, alleging that several political parties and governorship candidates were excluded from the initiative despite its presentation as a peace-building programme ahead of the election.
The communiqué stated that parties such as the APP, YPP, PRP, Accord, APC and ADC were allegedly not carried along in the planning of the summit.
The group maintained that any peace initiative ahead of the election should involve all relevant stakeholders to ensure fairness, credibility and genuine commitment to peace.
“Some political parties in the state under the name of ‘The Democrat’ have no genuine intention to organise an amorphous peace summit as stated in their release,” the communiqué partly read.
The chairmen also urged the government and sponsors of the summit to seek clarification regarding the structure and objectives of the proposed gathering.
Despite their concerns, the political leaders stressed the importance of peaceful political engagement and urged parties, candidates and supporters to avoid actions capable of causing unrest in the state.
“We appeal to all political stakeholders, party leaders, candidates, supporters and political gladiators to embrace peace and conduct their campaigns in a peaceful, orderly and responsible manner,” the statement added.
The group warned against hate speech, political intimidation, harassment and violence, noting that elections should remain contests of ideas and development-focused campaigns rather than acts capable of threatening public peace.
The communiqué further called on security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organisations and electoral authorities to continue supporting efforts aimed at ensuring peaceful and credible elections in the state.
The development comes days after twelve political parties under the platform of “The Democrat” announced plans to organise a peace summit ahead of the governorship election.
The parties include the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Action Alliance (AA), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Boot Party, Labour Party (LP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), African Action Congress (AAC), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
