REASONS WHY ELECTION WAS POSTPONED -INEC BOSS EXPLAINS *SENATE PRESIDENT, BUKOLA SARAKI REACTS

Chairman, of The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has said that the postponement of the Presidential and national Assembly election was entirely that of the commission and not under any influence or security issues.

He noted that the commission earlier considered Sunday or Monday but had a rethink after receiving input from the ICT department that it will take five days to reconfigure card readers.

He therefore assured the nation and stakeholders that the commission is determined to keep to its promise to conduct a free, fair and transparent election that beats the 2015 general elections, which has become a benchmark for the commission.

Yakubu also agreed that the recent fire incidents in Abia, Anambra and Plateau had effect on the commissions scheduled of activities.

He however said the commission has been able to mop up card readers from other areas, while new Permanent Voters Cards have also been printed as replacement for those who lost their PVCs to the fire incident.

Meanwhile the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Saturday said the last-minute postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections caused a great inconvenience to many Nigerians.

Saraki made this known in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu.

He, however, appealed to Nigerians not to be discouraged by the rescheduling, but to remain determined to cast their votes for their preferred candidates.

The Senate President expressed disappointment that after preparations by the electoral commission, security services and other agencies of government, issues of logistics and related matters were said to be responsible for postponing the elections.

“Waiting till just a few hours to commencement of voting before announcing postponement of elections is extremely sad.

“Nobody can quantify the difficulty that this will bring to people at every level. I empathise with youth corps members who have been relocated from their places of primary assignment to assist with the conduct of the elections.

“My thoughts also go to civil servants who left their bases to go and vote in their hometowns.

“I also sympathise with millions of ordinary Nigerian traders whose businesses were suspended because of the no movement order. Thus, the costs of this postponement are incalculable,” he said.

Saraki appealed to Nigerians not to be deterred, discouraged or disappointed.

“Next Saturday, they should try and forget the current setback and troop out en masse to vote for their preferred candidates.

“Not voting because of the postponement is not a good option for Nigerians. My appeal to our people is that we must still go out next Saturday to exercise our franchise.

“At this point, government and INEC should focus on what is the way forward and ensure that the elections take place as rescheduled. They should move swiftly to smoothen all the rough edges.

“The commission must ensure we do not have a repeat of what happened today. We have been saying it that the 2019 elections should be a clear improvement on that of 2015,” he said.