Nigerian poll postponed; president appeals for calm

ABUJA (Reuters) — Politicians and voters across Nigeria yesterday expressed disappointment and dismay after a national election was postponed hours before the polls were due to open, with one opposition leader calling the move a dangerous ploy to keep President Muhammadu Buhari in power.

Buhari urged Nigerians to remain calm and to refrain from civil disorder. He was “deeply disappointed” by the delay, he said in a statement.

The one-week delay was needed to hold a free and fair election, Independent National Electoral Commission chairman Mahmood Yakubu told reporters in early yesterday.

“The commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the election as scheduled is no longer feasible. Consequently the commissioners decided to reschedule the presidential and national assembly elections to Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019,” Yakuba said.

Buhari, in power since 2015, faces a tight election contest against the main opposition candidate, businessman and former vice president Atiku Abubakar.

Aides to both men said their candidates would return to the capital Abuja yesterday. Buhari and Atiku are in the northern states of Katsina and Adamawa, where they had been due to vote.

Uche Secondu, chairman of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party, said the move was “dangerous to our democracy and unacceptable.”

Secondu said it was part of an attempt by Buhari to “cling on to power even when it’s obvious to him that Nigerians want him out.”

Buhari’s ruling All Progressives Congress party also criticized the electoral commission for the delay. The president had cooperated fully with the commission to ensure it had everything it had demanded to conduct free and fair elections, it said in a statement.

In a separate statement, Buhari urged Nigerians to “refrain from all civil disorder and remain peaceful, patriotic and united.”