President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign organisation has blamed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the postponement of the general elections.
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had in the early hours of Saturday announced a shift in the dates for the general elections by one week.
Spokesman for Mr Buhari’s campaign organisation, Festus Keyamo, in response on Saturday morning, condemned the delay in elections and absolved Buhari’s administration of any blame.
The statement read, “We condemn and deprecate this tardiness of the electoral umpire in the strongest terms possible.
“President Muhammadu Buhari had since cooperated fully with INEC by ensuring everything it demanded to conduct free and fair elections were promptly made available to it.
“This news is therefore a huge disappointment to us and to our teeming supporters nationwide and around the world, many of whom have come into the country to exercise their franchise.
“We do hope that INEC will remain neutral and impartial in this process as the rumor mill is agog with the suggestion that this postponement has been orchestrated in collusion with the main opposition, the PDP, that was never ready for this election.”
The spokesman also called for calm and peace among Nigerians in the face of the postponement of elections.
“We do not want to be forced to a situation of announcing our total loss of confidence in INEC, because we know where that would leave our democracy.
“It is in the light of the above that we wish to appeal to Nigerians and our supporters to be patient, calm and resolute despite this temporary setback.
“Let us not give anyone, especially the PDP, the opportunity to plunge this nation into a crises, which is what they earnestly desire. Its imminent defeat is just a few days away,” he said.
Mr Keyamo alleged that the PDP planned to announce “parallel results through some funny device it has procured or developed.”
