Nigerian president, ruling party hold emergency meeting over election delay

President Muhammadu Buhari was meeting with senior members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party on Monday over the postponement of Nigeria’s presidential election, the party said.

The electoral commission, which announced the delay five hours before polls were due to open last Saturday, said the election would now be held this coming Saturday.

Buhari, in power since 2015, faces a tight election contest against former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Both men urged voters to stay calm after the delay was announced.

Atiku later said Buhari’s administration was behind the delayed elections, without offering any evidence.

The electoral commission said the postponement was due solely to logistical factors and denied political pressure had played any part in the decision.

Presidential elections in 2011 and 2015 were also delayed over logistics and security issues.