INEC Chairman, Commissioners in Closed-Door Meeting as Sources Say Governorship Elections May Be Postponed

INEC Chairman, Commissioners in Closed-Door Meeting as Sources Say Governorship Elections May Be Postponed

  • There are strong speculations that the 2023 Governorship and State House of Assembly elections may be postponed
  • A top INEC official in Rivers state who spoke anonymously reportedly confirmed the development on Wednesday evening, March 8
  • Meanwhile, INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and his commissioners are currently in a closed-door meeting

FCT, Abuja - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reportedly reached a decision to postpone the March 11 Governorship and State Assembly elections to March 18, 2023.

According to Channels TV, a top INEC official in Rivers State who craved anonymity confirmed the development on Wednesday evening, March 8.

2023 Governorship and National Assembly Elections/INEC Mulls Postponement/March 18
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu speaking at the National Collation Centre. Photo credit: Olukayode Jaiyeola/NurPhoto
Source: Getty Images

The electoral umpire, the source added, will soon release an official statement about the postponement. The development was also reported by TheCable.

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INEC was earlier restrained from tampering with the information embedded in the BVAS machines until the due inspection was conducted and Certified True Copies (CTC) were issued to candidates who are challenging the outcome of the presidential election.

Daily Trust stated that the planned postponement was due to the inability of the commission to commence the re-configuration of the BVAS machines used for the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections, to enable their use for the state elections.

INEC chairman, commissioners in closed-door meeting

Meanwhile, the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and his commissioners are currently in a meeting, according to The Punch.

This may not be unconnected with the alleged planned postponement of the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections initially scheduled to take place on 11 March.

The meeting commenced around 7 pm and was still ongoing as of the time of filing this report.

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Earlier on Wednesday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja approved INEC's application to reconfigure the BVAS machines used for the 2023 presidential election.

A three-member panel of justices led by Justice Joseph Ikyegh gave the ruling.

The panel explained that the reconfiguration was to enable the electoral body to conduct the March 11 governorship and state assembly elections.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Nurudeen Lawal avatar

Nurudeen Lawal (Head of Politics and Current Affairs Desk) Nurudeen Lawal is an AFP-certified journalist with a wealth of experience spanning over 8 years. He received his B/Arts degree in Literature-in-English from OAU. Lawal is the Head of the Politics/CA Desk at Legit.ng, where he applies his expertise to provide incisive coverage of events. He was named the Political Desk Head of the Year (Nigeria Media Nite-Out Award 2023). He is also a certified fact-checker (Dubawa fellowship, 2020). Contact him at lawal.nurudeen@corp.legit.ng or +2347057737768.