With less than 24 hours to go until Nigeria’s rescheduled presidential election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) has said that everything is in place for the poll to take place this time round.
The vote was supposed to happen last Saturday, but with less than five hours to go until polls were meant to open, Inec postponed the election.
It said that there were logistical problems.
But on Friday morning Inec commissioner Festus Okoye said everything was in place.
He told the BBC’s Newsday programme:
Quote Message: The only thing that will prevent the election from holding on Saturday is [an] act of God. Or something that is beyond human comprehension. In relation to elections we are ready to go. We have put the disappointment of the past behind us.”
The only thing that will prevent the election from holding on Saturday is [an] act of God. Or something that is beyond human comprehension. In relation to elections we are ready to go. We have put the disappointment of the past behind us.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has addressed the nation, praising people’s patience during the week-long delay and urging them to vote:
“As your President, I hereby ask all Nigerians with voting cards to participate in defining the future of our nation by exercising your democratic rights tomorrow. I urge you to go out and vote.”
“I believe INEC realises the profound and weighty duty that rests upon it. We must cast aside doubt and have faith that INEC will rise to the occasion. We must believe and encourage INEC to fulfill and honour this responsibility it owes to our country.”
Mr Buhari, first elected in 2015, is running for a second term. He’s facing 72 other candidates but Atiku Abubakar is his main challenger.
Source: BBC