President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed disappointment at the postponement of the general elections, despite assurances he had received from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that everything was on course for a smooth conduct of the exercise.
Following the postponement, he has decided to return to Abuja from his hometown Daura, Katsina State where he would have voted on Saturday.
The president is now expected to await briefing by the electoral body.
A statement issued on Saturday and personally signed by him informed that he was deeply disappointed, considering that many Nigerians had travelled while international observers had gathered.
He said is administration had not interfered with the business of INEC beyond providing it with all the support it needed.
The president urged the electoral body to be sure that the materials distributed were safe and do not fall into the wrong hands.
The statement read: “I am deeply disappointed that despite the long notice given and our preparations, both locally and internationally, the INEC postponed the presidential and National Assembly elections within hours of its commencement.
“Many Nigerians have traveled to various locations to exercise their right to vote, and international observers are gathered.
“INEC had given assurances, day after day and almost hour after hour, that it was in complete readiness for the elections. We and all our citizens believed them.
“This administration has ensured that we do not interfere in any way with the work of INEC except to ensure that all funds were released to the commission.
“We now urge INEC to ensure not only that materials already distributed are safe and do not get into wrong hands, but also that everything is done to avoid the lapses that resulted in this unfortunate postponement, and ensure a free and fair election on the rescheduled dates.”
Nigerians should not be discouraged –Durotoye
The presidential candidate of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), Fela Duroyote, has expressed dissatisfaction over the actions of the electoral body by making such decision on the election day.
He described the development as disappointing, just as he charged all Nigerians not to be discouraged over the postponement.
Olusola slams Buhari, APC
The chairman of Atiku/Obi Presidential Campaign Council, Ekiti State, who is also the immediate-past deputy governor of the state, Professor Kolapo Olusola, has blamed the APC and President Buhari for the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections earlier scheduled for yesterday.
He said the action was not only despicable, but showed the level of desperation by the APC and Buhari to cling to power through foul means, irrespective of the wish expressed by the people during the polls.
Speaking through his media aide, Onaopemipo Akinloye, in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday, Olusola said no matter the plots and intrigues by the party and the president, the will of the people to vote them out of office would surely come to pass.
He alleged that the willingness of the INEC to compromise its integrity made it to come up with the “cock and bull story of inadequate logistics” as the reason for the postponement.
“This is an assignment that INEC has four years to prepare for. They were adequately mobilised for the exercise too. Why did it take the INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, five hours to the start of the elections before announcing the postponement? This came after the INEC assured Nigerians, even until a day to the polls, that all was well.
Olusola added that the action of INEC in postponing the elections was determined by Buhari’s statement on Cable News Network (CNN) that nobody could unseat him.
“That is a statement made in self delusion. Let Buhari continue to delude himself that nobody can unseat him. Was he the one that put himself on the seat? When the time comes, he will be shown the exit door courtesy of the votes of Nigerians.”
A’Ibom residents angry
Anger and shock have continued to trail last minutes postponement of the general election.
For residents of Akwa Ibom State, the postponement has further raised tension and apprehension in the polity.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, former deputy governor, Dr. Chris Ekpenyong, described the development as sad, “given the fact a lot of eligible voters had already relocated from their locations in cities to the rural areas where they would vote before the last-minute shift in dates.”
He prayed INEC should overcome the challenges of logistics to be able to conduct “a near-perfect poll” under the right atmosphere.
Other residents of the state also spoke with Sunday Tribune over the development. At the popular Akpanandem market in Uyo, Madam Lydia Umoh said the postponement was a breach of trust of voters as the people had placed their trust on INEC, “only to have their hope dashed.”
“The thing is very discouraging. The postponement will discourage the electorate from coming out again. It is going to create apathy because of the time wasted. You can imagine after that long preparation and planning, the elections have to be shifted. We are not happy at all,” she said.
Also speaking, a political analyst and public commentator in the state, Elder Otu Ephraim, decried the sudden shift in the election date, but urged voters not to be discouraged.
He called on INEC to use the one-week period to do “the needful” to enable the country move on.
Mixed feelings in Kwara
Political actors and residents of Kwara state have expressed divergent views following the reported postponement of the general elections scheduled for Saturday.
Despite knowledge of the postponement, residents remained in doors, while business and social activities were grounded as few vehicles were on the road.
Most people said the development had disrupted their plans and activities for the next few weeks, lamenting social and business losses.
However, others said the electoral body did well to postpone the election, adding that it could have been disastrous going ahead with it without adequate preparation.
Meanwhile, the APC in Kwara State has urged its supporters to remain steadfast and resolute to vote for all its candidates next week.
In his reaction to the postponement in Ilorin on Saturday, the state chairman of the party, Alhaji Bolarinwa Bashir, urged all APC members to resume campaign activities in earnest.
“The action is painful, as people are eager to put a stop to the incumbent government that has over the years ravaged the economy of the state.
Ortom expresses disappointed
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and the governorship candidate of the APC, Emmanuel Jime, have expressed disappointment over the postponement of the elections.
Governor Ortom, in a statement, explained that the APC was only buying additional time before its defeat by forcing the INEC to postpone the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Ortom, who said whether INEC shifted the polls or not, Nigerians would still reject the APC, described the development as unfortunate.
“For INEC to postpone the elections it took more than three years to plan a few hours to the commencement of voting when people had travelled from far places to exercise their franchise is a rape of democracy.
The governor further described the action of INEC as a grand plan by the APC-led Federal Government to rig the elections.
He said Benue State and North-Central was vigilant and would not allow any form of rigging during the polls.
The governor gave the assurance that the people of the North-Central region were prepared for free, fair, credible and transparent elections “that will usher in leaders who can anchor the country’s democracy based on the rule of law.”
In his own reaction, the APC governorship candidate, Jime, who spoke with journalists yesterday, decried the action of INEC, saying the country should be improving on how to deliver the electoral process.
“The past should be a lesson to improve on our electoral process. With this development, it shows that we are still crawling. The resources that have gone into the process is already taking a toll on political parties,” Jime said.
Uduaghan expresses displeasure
Delta South Senatorial candidate of the APC, Emmanuel Uduaghan, expressed displeasure over the sudden postponement of the elections.
Dr Uduaghan, who’s the immediate-past governor of Delta State, made his position known in a statement signed and available to Sunday Tribune in Warri yesterday.
“I received with utmost discontentment and displeasure at about 3:00 a.m. today, amidst teeming supporters who kept wake with me, the news by the INEC of its resolution to shift the presidential and National Assembly elections to February 23.
“My party, the APC, has already come out with a statement. However, I wish to use this opportunity to thank my teeming supporters in Delta South Senatorial district who, despite the difficult terrain, mobilised to vote me as their senator,” he said.
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