File photo shows registered voters wait to collect their permanent voter cards (PVC) in Awka South (Local Government Area, Nigeria), Nigeria, Feb. 8, 2019. (Xinhua/NAN)
by Olatunji Saliu
ABUJA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Nigerians on Saturday expressed disappointment at the electoral body's postponement of the presidential election few hours to the commencement of voting in the country.
Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced the shifting of the polls until Feb. 23 at a midnight press conference, saying the scheduled proceeding of the voting was not "feasible."
"Following a careful review of the implementation of its logistics and operational plan and the determination to conduct free, fair, and credible elections, the Commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the elections as scheduled is no longer feasible," Yakubu said.
Likewise, the electoral body postponed gubernatorial elections in the country, earlier slated for March 2, also by one week.
Although Nigerians are used to elections being postponed, the postponement of this year's presidential polls in the country was greeted by criticism.
The governing All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council said it received with great disappointment and disillusionment the announcement of the postponement of the election by the electoral body.
"We condemn and deprecate this tardiness of the electoral umpire in strongest terms possible," the party said in a statement by its campaign spokesman.
The statement noted that President Muhammadu Buhari "had cooperated fully with INEC by ensuring everything it demanded to conduct free and fair elections were promptly made available to it.
"We do hope that INEC will remain neutral and impartial in this process," it said.
On its own part, the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) rejected the shift in the dates of the general elections and described it as "an act of wickedness."
In a statement, the party's chairman Uche Secondus said a foul play was being suspected and that it sensed the move as a means of thwarting the will of Nigerians in the election.
"The PDP leader warns that the party will not accept anything short of a well-organized electoral process devoid of manipulation, harassment, and intimidation of voters and the opposition, particularly members of the PDP," the statement said.
Tope Kolade Fasua, the presidential candidate of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), said the election postponement will have great implications for everybody.
In his opinion, the development was beyond ridiculous. "And it has put a dent on the integrity of INEC already," he said.
More than 84 million Nigerians have been registered to vote in the postponed elections.
Ahead of the elections, enthusiasm had been high among citizens of the most populous African country. The election had also drawn the attention of the international community given the position and prospects of Nigeria in the global arena.
Many netizens of the country have continued to express disappointment at the postponement of the elections, each one regarding it as a huge failure on the side of INEC.
Some social media commentators even called on the electoral chief to resign.
One Facebook user Olufunmilayo Odunaike said that if at all there was a reason for the postponement, that should have been done a few weeks earlier.
"You don't want to be me. Woke up, dashed to the bathroom to have my bath, made sandwiches, only to learn elections have been postponed," Odunaike queried.
Temitope Adeboye, another Facebook user, called for a thorough probe of the postponement.
Folorunsho Amsat, a journalist, told Xinhua one of the side effects of the polls postponement is that it would cause many voters to be depressed and the country might record a low turnout of electorates when the election eventually holds.
"The momentum is dying. I hope it's not dead in one week," he said.
According to the electoral chief, shifting the polls was "a difficult decision for the Commission to take."
For more than seven hours, the electoral chief and the 12 national commissioners of the INEC were in a closed-door meeting on Friday night.
The elections were supposed to hold at 119,973 polling units across the country while collation of results was to take place in 8,809 registration areas or wards, 774 local government areas in 36 states and the capital Abuja.
Sources had hinted a possible postponement of the election due to logistic challenges in some parts of the country.
The official News Agency of Nigeria, citing official sources in the north-central state of Niger, had reported that ballot papers for two of the state's three senatorial districts were missing as of Friday evening.
In Ekiti, the main opposition party said there were no ballot papers and result sheets for presidential and senatorial elections as of 9 p.m. local time. Similar situations were also reported in at least six other states across the country.
INEC said the postponement "will afford the Commission the opportunity to address identified challenges in order to maintain the quality of elections."
In 2011, the Nigerian electoral body postponed election by two days after voting had actually started in some parts of the country, citing late deployment of electoral materials as its main reason.
Four years later, in 2015, the Commission shifted the general elections by six weeks due to security reasons.
