Nigeria’s Opposition Leader Calls For Peace

Nigeria's electoral commission postponed elections due on February 14 to March 28.

Postponing came after security chiefs told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it could not guarantee security during the initial dates.

"The independence of INEC has been severely compromised. As a Nigerian and opposition candidate in the election, I share in the disappointment and frustration of this decision," General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party told a press conference.

Foreign powers are closely observing the course of elections in Africa's biggest economy and have voiced concerns there could be a repetition of violence that followed 2011 elections when 800 people died.

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.

The postponement could stoke unrest in opposition strongholds such as the commercial capital, Lagos, and Nigeria's second city, Kano.

The opposition has been staunchly against a shift in the election.

By Tom Omulo.

Source: BBC News