Asue Ighodalo, the governorship candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the upcoming Edo State election, has committed to signing the peace accord with other political parties once the Federal Government and the Nigeria Police Force meet the required conditions.
Speaking on Channels Television’s *Politics Today* on Monday, Ighodalo expressed concern over the arrest and detention of some PDP members without formal charges.
He assured that his camp would promptly sign the peace accord, already endorsed by the other parties, once his supporters are released.
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“We had a number of conditions, most of the conditions have now been met with one left. Many of our guys have been held unjustly.
“We think if you hold guys, you either charge them or you let them go on bail. So, either they charge all our guys and we are represented or let them go on bail. Once that is achieved we will sign the peace accord,” Ighodalo said.
The PDP candidate cited an uneven playing field as the primary reason for his party’s reluctance to sign the peace accord. However, he acknowledged that the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has now assured the party of neutrality.
“We saw a lot of our supporters being harassed, being intimidated, we saw thugs from the other party – everybody saw them on TV with weapons, none of those guys were arrested.
“Of course, we have a reason to feel strongly harassed and intimidated. Based on that we felt strongly that unless a level playing ground is created, we would not sign the peace accord.
“But today we feel a bit better, the Inspector General of Police has given us his assurance and his word as a man of great honour that we will have a level playing field,” he said.
He emphasized that his camp advocates for nonviolence and that stance will remain unchanged.
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