Peace Accord: Atiku Was Invited But PDP Bungled It, Bishop Kukah Insists

Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, has made it clear that the presidential flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, was actually invited to the signing of the peace accord, by presidential candidates, ahead of the 2019 election.

The cleric, who is one of the conveners of the National Peace Committee, dismissed claims that the former Vice President was not invited, insisting that Atiku’s absence was due to errors within the PDP national secretariat.

Bishop Kukah, who was answering questions on Channels TV’s Politics Today, anchored by Seun Okinbaloye, brandished a copy of the formal invitation letter sent to the PDP national chairman, Uche Secondus, which was duly acknowledged by the party, said a problem in communication within the PDP was to blame for the error.

“I have a copy of the letter which was sent to all political party chairmen announcing this event. And this is a letter we sent which was acknowledged in the office of Chief Uche Secondus, chairman of the PDP.

“So, what happened is really a communication problem and I think we’ll rectify it. It was just an administrative error on the part of their (PDP) secretariat.”

The Bishop said that the office of the peace committee will remain open for anybody, who for any reason missed the signing ceremony, to come and commit to a peaceful 2019 election.

“They can still come and append their signature. The most important thing is the commitment,” he said.

Media aide to Atiku, Paul Ibe,  had in a statement said that his principal was not formally invited to the signing of the peace pact.