The City Reporters and International Media Report
Buhari and Jonathan in jovial embrace after signing the “Abuja Accord.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has finally bowed to pressures from President Goodluck Jonathan to postpone the presidential and national assembly elections to March 28, reports say.
Sources close to INEC and the Nigerian government said governorship and state house of assembly polls have been moves to April 11.
Reports say INEC caved in to the demands of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) due to President Jonathan’s insistence the polls be moved so the country could reclaim large swathes of the north-east of the country from Boko Haram terrorists.
INEC, which is currently in consultation with stakeholders in Abuja is, however, yet to make the official announcement which multiple sources say will be the postponement polls originally slated for February 14 and 28.
Soldiers have already been deployed to the streets of Nigeria, a stronghold of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-West to forestall violent reactions to the impending announcement.
The news may be met with widespread dissatisfaction due to INEC’s previous assurances it would never move the dates.
Pundits say Jonathan wanted the shift in dates so the popularity of Muhammadu Buhari of the APC would lose momentum.
Seventeen out of the 28 registered political parties which held talks with INEC asked the body to shift the conduct of the general elections by six weeks. Reports say the PDP heavily bribed the parties to make the demands.
A Nigerian official had told Associated Press that voting, scheduled to go ahead in February, would be postponed for six weeks to allow a new multinational force the opportunity to secure land under the control of Boko Haram, The Independent is reporting.
An estimated 1.5 million could be disenfranchised should voting go ahead while the Islamists hold territory in the north-east.
The run-up to elections has already been marred by violence within the country.
President Jonathan has faced increasing criticism over his perceived impotency in the face of the extremist threat.
On Friday, US intelligence officials estimated that Boko Haram – who declared an Islamic Caliphate over territory stretching across parts of Nigeria and her neighbour’s borders – may have as many as 4,000 to 6,000 “hardcore” fighters.
Last year the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by the group was met with international calls to action and limited results within the nation. The latest information indicates that the majority of the girls remain in the custody of the organisation.
Note: Some information used in this report were taken from Britain based Independent.Co.Uk.
