Main PageBuhari urges calm after election postponement
Abuja - Opposition presidential candidate
Muhammadu Buhari called for calm in the country
and cautioned against any violence following the
election postponement, which he said was
engineered by the ruling People's Democratic
Party.
Foreign powers are closely following events in
Africa's biggest economy and have voiced concerns
there could be a repetition of violence that
followed 2011 elections when 800 people died and
that a delay would stoke unrest in opposition
strongholds.
The poll will pit incumbent Goodluck Jonathan of
the PDP against former military ruler Buhari of the
All Progressives Congress (APC) in what is likely to
be the most hotly contested election since the end
of military rule in 1999.
"Any act of violence can only complicate the
security challenges in the country and provide
further justification to those who would want to
exploit every situation to frustrate the democratic
process," Buhari said.
Also Read: Vote postponement comes under
fire
The decision to postpone was widely viewed as the
Independent Electoral National Commission (INEC)
yielding to pressure by the PDP, which the
opposition said feared it could lose.
Nigeria's electoral commission said it postponed
the February 14 elections to March 28, after
security chiefs told INEC that it could not guarantee
security owing to operations to combat the Sunni
jihadist group Boko Haram.
"It is important to note that although INEC acted
within its constitutional powers, it is clear that it
has been boxed into a situation where it has had to
bow to pressure," Buhari said.
"What they (security forces) cannot do in 6 years,
they cannot do in 6 weeks."
Also Read: Tinubu describes poll shift as
democracy at gunpoint
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington
was deeply disappointed by the postponement and
criticised "political interference" in the election
process. Britain also voiced concern.
The insurgents have taken over swathes of territory
in the northeast an attempt to establish an Islamic
state. Nigeria's army has been lagging in the fight,
with Chad now sending in troops to assist while
Cameroon has been pushing back incursions into
its territory.
Buhari said the presidential and state level
elections on March 28 and April 11 must now be
sacrosanct and that the party would not tolerate
any further interference in the vote.
Earlier on Sunday, President Goodluck Jonathan
said he was committed to May 29 as the terminal
date of his first term in office and also called for
calm.
"President Jonathan believes that this is not a time
to trade blames or make statements that may
overheat the polity," Reuben Abati, presidency
spokesman, said in a statement.
Muhammadu Buhari called for calm in the country
and cautioned against any violence following the
election postponement, which he said was
engineered by the ruling People's Democratic
Party.
Foreign powers are closely following events in
Africa's biggest economy and have voiced concerns
there could be a repetition of violence that
followed 2011 elections when 800 people died and
that a delay would stoke unrest in opposition
strongholds.
The poll will pit incumbent Goodluck Jonathan of
the PDP against former military ruler Buhari of the
All Progressives Congress (APC) in what is likely to
be the most hotly contested election since the end
of military rule in 1999.
"Any act of violence can only complicate the
security challenges in the country and provide
further justification to those who would want to
exploit every situation to frustrate the democratic
process," Buhari said.
Also Read: Vote postponement comes under
fire
The decision to postpone was widely viewed as the
Independent Electoral National Commission (INEC)
yielding to pressure by the PDP, which the
opposition said feared it could lose.
Nigeria's electoral commission said it postponed
the February 14 elections to March 28, after
security chiefs told INEC that it could not guarantee
security owing to operations to combat the Sunni
jihadist group Boko Haram.
"It is important to note that although INEC acted
within its constitutional powers, it is clear that it
has been boxed into a situation where it has had to
bow to pressure," Buhari said.
"What they (security forces) cannot do in 6 years,
they cannot do in 6 weeks."
Also Read: Tinubu describes poll shift as
democracy at gunpoint
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington
was deeply disappointed by the postponement and
criticised "political interference" in the election
process. Britain also voiced concern.
The insurgents have taken over swathes of territory
in the northeast an attempt to establish an Islamic
state. Nigeria's army has been lagging in the fight,
with Chad now sending in troops to assist while
Cameroon has been pushing back incursions into
its territory.
Buhari said the presidential and state level
elections on March 28 and April 11 must now be
sacrosanct and that the party would not tolerate
any further interference in the vote.
Earlier on Sunday, President Goodluck Jonathan
said he was committed to May 29 as the terminal
date of his first term in office and also called for
calm.
"President Jonathan believes that this is not a time
to trade blames or make statements that may
overheat the polity," Reuben Abati, presidency
spokesman, said in a statement.
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