African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s absence from the signing of the National Peace Accord ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Sowore said Tinubu’s decision not to attend the ceremony showed that the president did not consider the peace pact a serious affair.

He made the remarks on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, hours after political leaders signed the accord in Abuja on Tuesday.

President Tinubu was represented at the ceremony by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, while other political figures, including Peter Obi, Sowore and Donald Duke, signed the agreement organised by the National Peace Committee.

Sowore said the president, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, should have personally attended the ceremony to demonstrate his commitment to preventing electoral violence.

“I told them (opposition) that whatever they signed there was null and void because they are not parties to the election. In all the candidates in this election, the President of Nigeria is the number one controller of violence, officially, because he is Commander-in-Chief for good and for bad. So, if he is not there, it shows that this is not a serious affair,” he said.

The AAC candidate argued that Tinubu’s physical presence would have given the accord greater moral weight and demonstrated that the government was committed to the principles contained in the agreement.

“He should have shown example as a leader to say, if this thing is going to be done 20 times, I will be there to approve my signature on paper if you believe in it. This shows he doesn’t even believe in what we are doing.

“If you are serious with non-violence, it should start with the Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. It will give moral support to whatever was being done yesterday,” Sowore said.

(Channels)