The campaign office of President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the postponement of the 2019 presidential elections.

Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, announced at about 2:40 a.m. Saturday that the election had been postponed, barely hours after Nigerians were set to hit the polling units.

The elections would now hold on new dates scheduled as February 23 for presidential and national assembly elections and March 9 for governorship and state assemblies elections.

Mr Yakubu said the announcement came hours after a string of strategic meetings were held by top INEC officials to review preparedness for the exercise. It was concluded that a rash of logistics challenges that arose on Friday informed the postponement.

Ekiti, Niger and Taraba states were identified as some of the states that faced glitches of distribution of voting materials that would be difficult to resolve in time for the elections Saturday morning, thereby forcing the postponement.

Nigerians online expressed severe disappointment in INEC’s eleventh-hour decision, with many criticising the umpire for displaying stark incompetence since it had four years to prepare for the exercise.

Festus Keyamo, a spokesperson for Mr Buhari’s reelection campaign committee, also expressed sadness about the development, and quickly heaped the blame on the PDP in a statement released minutes after the announcement.

“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.

“We note that all the major credible demographic projections have predicted a defeat of the PDP and it seriously needed this breather to orchestrate more devious strategies to try and halt President Buhari’s momentum.

“It did the same as the ruling Party in 2015, when it realized the game was up, by orchestrating the postponement of the 2015 elections by six weeks. Now, it may be up to its old trick again.

“We have earlier raised the alarm that the PDP is bent on discrediting this process the moment it realized it cannot make up the numbers to win this election. We are only urging INEC not collude with the PDP on this.

“We are truly worried because as early as Friday morning, some known PDP Social Media influencers unwittingly announced this postponement, but quickly deleted the message and apologized to the public that it was fake news,” Mr Keyamo said.

The spokesperson also urged Nigerians to support INEC in its challenges, and prevent the commission from being compromised by the opposition.

“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.

“Lastly, we wish to draw the attention of INEC and the world to observe that the PDP has clearly and openly said it plans to announce parallel results through some funny device it has procured or developed.

“We wish to reiterate that it is only INEC that is legally and constitutionally empowered to declare results and it constitutes an offence for anyone to do so.

“We urge INEC to speak up now and warn the PDP to desist from this ignoble act that is capable of plunging the nation into a crises of immeasurable proportions,” he said.

Mr Keyamo did not attach any evidence to corroborate his claims against the PDP or other opposition elements he accused in the statement.

A spokesperson for the PDP did not immediately answer calls seeking comments in the early hours of Saturday morning.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/313208-elections-buhari-campaign-blames-pdp-for-postponement.html

Rigging will fail APC big time...

Breaking: INEC postpones today’s election

Read @ https://www.ayeeshpearlblog.org/2019/02/breaking-inec-postpones-todays-election.html

This one sabi talk rubbish nah

Anu ofia!

The fear of defeat has made APC postpone the election but it doesn't change anything the lifeless one will be voted out

Nothing new here as election had been postponed before and even the "blame game" is in some parties' DNA.
I am counting the cost to me and my family right now. Bringing kids back from their school,moving everyone to our polling location and having to do it twice.
When will Nigeria stand,...4 years to prepare for an event still INEC goofed up.

.......hmmm. That was how they postponed by 6weeks 4 years ago. Mammud should be careful o. PDP must be removed from Nigeria at all costs.

Festus Keyamo u are mad already if u don't know.
Failure is ur party name just like buhari 4yrs rule even with dis election dats been postponed

they started with blame games and will end with blame games.

Even on the day of the supposed election, the blame game still continues.

APC!!! Una no wan change?

Imagine the fool blaming the gross failure of his APC-infested INEC on the PDP.They use blame swear for
these idiots.

Rubbish

Mr President accept and claim responsibility

To slap this guy just dey hungry me

after 4 years of preparation?......the INEC is just stupid

Shame on APC, PDP and INEC!

This is a shame!

Which sector is f**king working?!

If INEC cannot arrange for an election within three years, what exactly have they been doing or paid for?
If INEC can make this sort of decision then the president can do as he likes as we've been seeing.

Until we start taking actions in thus country, they'd keep on doing things as they like.
Nobody except INEC is to be blamed, at least they received the cash.

We seriously need help and we are yet to know it

E

But now that sensitive materials are on ground .. Will they move on with this materials or get new ones 1 .. This can only be archived only if INEC knew about this postponement all along and used the first materials as a decoy smart move but very wasteful

useless party they can't do without blame

Awon werey, you cancel election come dey blame opposition. Are you people madt?

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.

Disappointed with INEC.

#PissedOff

APC, bunch of imbeciles. Nonsense!

The lifeless one and his cabals are not smiling. This election is a door or die affair. The rigging machinery at full speed, no stone must be left unturned.

Nothing person no go hear for this country

this Infested keyamo.... Will not shut up his lie hole.. Can't you wait for the man that is paid to lie for APC to come and lie to us?....for God sake he even has LIE as a first name.... He sure will do a better job at damage control!!!!

My brothers and sisters, this is because Bukola Saraki spoke with Awolowo in ivory cost, when ojukwu was beside Ben Bruce in 1960! Let us understand that the information of Italy in the forth coming elections must be held in ultimatum! Sons and daughters we must underplay the hoy poloy of comic book random.

APC and blame game na 5 and 6