Ben Obi Reveals How Peace Pact Signed By Buhari, Jonathan Came About

The Special Adviser on Inter-Party Affairs of President Goodluck Jonathan, Ben Obi, has given details how his office packaged the meeting where a non-violence pact was signed by the presidential aspirants and leaders of the political parties ahead of February polls.

ent Jonathan from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and his key opponent from the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Muhammadu Buhari, as well as the headship of all the listed parties, signed the accord to guarantee violent-free elections next month.

Key presidential aspirants Muhammadu Buhari (L) and Goodluck Jonathan during the workshop.

Obi while speaking on the radio programme said he recently approached Jonathan to tell him of the plan to schedule the workshop where all the presidential aspirants would be invited to settle on the need to have nonviolent polls.

He clarified that when he met the president, who parenthetically was with his Chief of State, Jones Arogbofa, he called him proximately if he had communicated with Mr. Buhari.
Mr. Obi said he told the president that he had just come to speak with him (president) first and would contact the APC candidate afterwards.

According to him, during the debate with Mr. President, Jonathan told him that while he ought to be campaigning someplace that day, he would make himself obtainable and asked his assistant, Namadi Sambo, to continue with the campaign.
Special Adviser said that directly he got the endorsement of the president, he placed a call to the National Chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, whom he said told him “Count on me, I will tell Buhari to attend.”

He did not meanwhile clarify how he got the contenders and leaders of the other parties to join.
Asked how his office would guarantee that the signatories stand by the terms of peace pact, Mr. Obi said a committee including prominent Nigerians and candidates of the political parties would be established soon to assume that mission.

Presidential aide said: “All you need is an all-stakeholder committee to continue to follow up on this accord. Nobody amongst them involuntarily appended their signature to this accord. Therefore it will not be difficult in anyway and manner in enforcing or making sure that they keep to this accord.

“If we are able to put as soon as possible an all-stakeholders committee to see this through…it depends on how these things are handled.

“Like I said when we were putting these things together I told the president, Kofi Annan is coming, Emeka Anyaoku will chair it, Ibrahim Gambari, an former Under Secretary guest speaker, General Isaac Obiakor, first African military adviser in the UN, guest speaker; and of course Attajiru Jega, the chairman of INEC for obvious reason; I tried to make sure nobody in APC will say oh this is a known PDP supporter, the other person saying a known APC supporters, I make sure I get everybody that is known clearly non-partisan in any way and manner.

“So the truth of the matter is that you must be able to enjoy the trust and confidence of everybody. So if you put an all stakeholders committee together, people who are respected Nigerians together, the parties nominating their own members, at that high level, you don’t have anything to worry. And Nigerians themselves will be informing the committee of anybody derailing whenever they find the candidates doing it.”

Mr. Obi revealed that after the agreement was signed, the president fixed him to follow up in order to confirm the terms were kept.