Four of the leading candidates for the Imo State governorship election scheduled for November 11, 2023, failed to show up at the peace accord meeting organised by the National Peace Committee in Owerri, the state capital, on Tuesday.
The absentees were the incumbent governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hope Uzodimma; the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Athan Achonu; the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Tony Ejiogu; and the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ben Odunze.
The peace accord meeting was aimed at ensuring a peaceful and credible conduct of the election, as well as a commitment from the candidates to accept the outcome of the polls and avoid violence.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Samuel Anyanwu, who arrived late at the venue, also left shortly after he noticed that the major contenders were not present.
Although Uzodimma, Achonu, and Anyanwu sent their running mates to represent them, the organisers of the ceremony did not allow them to sign the peace accord on behalf of their principals. The organisers said the documents would not be signed by candidates in proxy. However, the chairmen of APC and LP signed the documents.
The candidates of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Bright Ekwebelem; Action Democratic Party (ADP), Steve Nwoga; Action Alliance (AA), Jack Ogunewe; and other candidates were present and signed the peace accord.
The Deputy Inspector General Of Police, Frank Mba, who is in charge of the election in the state, and other senior security agents were present during the ceremony which had a huge presence of security agents.
It was later announced that the candidates who missed the ceremony could come to the office of the state Commissioner of Police to sign the documents on Thursday.
The running mate of the PDP candidate, Jones Onyereri, who spoke to journalists shortly after, said his candidate left because he had other engagements. He said that Anyanwu asked him to stay back. He asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to compromise the electoral process, adding that it would make nonsense of the peace accord.
The governorship election in Imo State is expected to be a keenly contested one, as the incumbent governor, Uzodimma, faces stiff opposition from other candidates, especially Anyanwu, who is a former senator and a popular figure in the state.
