The Independent National Electoral Commission has taken a decision to move the presidential and National Assembly elections which was initially slated for February 16 till next week 23 February. The governorship and house of assembly, FCT area council elections on the other hand have also been shifted from March 2 to 9 March 2019.
The postponement of the election came after a meeting that held for over six hours between INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu and 12 national commissioners in Abuja on Friday.
The chairman of the electoral commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu confirmed the shift of the presidential election, stating that the postponement of the scheduled elections are down to logistic and operational problems. He added saying the only advantage of the postponement was that it was going to afford the commission the opportunity to address the already identified challenges in order to maintain the standard of Nigeria’s elections.
It should be recalled that a similar event took place during the 2015 general elections when the presidential election was shifted from february 14 to March 28 and the governorship election was shifted from February 28 to April 11.