Ahead of its meeting with political parties and Resident Electoral Commissioners scheduled for Saturday, there are strong indications that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), may have resolved to reschedule the 2015 general electors to March 2015.
A reliable source told News Investigators that, with the change, the Presidential and National Assembly elections earlier scheduled to hold February 14, 2015, will now hold March 14, 2015.
In the past weeks, the commission has been under intense pressure from different quarters to move the elections forward to a later date, with some of the proponents citing the inadequacies in the distribution of the Permanent Voter’s Card by INEC.
March 9 or 12 were the new dates suggested to INEC by the proponents of a shift in the election date before the commission then decided to settle for March 14, it was further learnt.
It is however not clear whether the Governorship and elections into the State Houses of Assembly would planned for February 28, 2015, would be affected by the postponement.
The electoral umpire fixed separate meetings with chairmen and secretaries of all registered political parties, and resident electoral commissioners [RECs] for Saturday to decide whether to go ahead with the general elections scheduled for February 14 and 28.
But News Investigators further learnt that the meeting was merely convened to legitimize an already taken position that there is need to postpone the elections to allow more time for the commission to conclude distribution of PVC and further evaluation of security situation in risk prone area.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, Friday, said after the meetings, “the Commission will address a press conference to brief the nation on its decision with regard to whether or not the general elections will hold as currently scheduled.”
The commission had on Thursday briefed the National Council of States on the preparedness of the Commission to conduct the 2015 general elections without any assurance that the elections will hold on schedule..
The National Security Adviser, Mr. Sambo Dasuki, and the services chiefs also briefed the Council on the current security situation in the North-East.
The Council advised Jega to consult more widely with the security agencies and State Resident Electoral Commissioners.
“Compared with the 2011 General Elections, for instance, our systems are definitely more robust. We believe that we are ready for the elections as planned,” Jega told the Council.
While the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Presidency have been rooting for a postponement, the All Progressive Congress (APC) have vehemently opposed the move.
