The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the 2023 presidential election for February 25.
Nigerians are excited and have shown interest in going to cast their votes, on Saturday.
However, Nigerians may wake up to news of election postponement.
How The 2015 Elections Were Postponed
A few years ago, in 2015, Nigerians were also excited to cast their votes at the elections which were first scheduled to be held on 14 February.
However, INEC postponed it by six weeks to 28 March.
According to INEC, the reason for the postponement was due to the poor distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVC), and also to curb the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in certain northeastern states.
In that regard, land and sea borders were closed from midnight on March 25 until the end of the election.
The election was then extended to 29 March due to delays and technical problems with the biometric card readers.
Why INEC Postponed The 2019 Election
In 2019 again, INEC postponed the presidential elections citing logistical challenges.
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General elections earlier scheduled to hold on February 16 were postponed till February 23, 2019.
INEC announced the postponement of the vote by a week at 3:00AM on the original polling day.
INEC said it could not get electoral materials to polling units on time.
In some places, the elections were delayed until 24 February due to electoral violence.
Some other areas had their elections delayed until March 9, when voting was carried out alongside the state gubernatorial elections.
What Happens If INEC Is Unable To Deliver Sensitive Materials
If INEC is unable to secure the delivery of sensitive materials needed for the election in time, there may be a postponement.
Although, INEC says the Central Bank of Nigeria has provided the cash requested for the election.
“The bulk of the small amount of cash that we have requested from the Central Bank of Nigeria is right now being released to the commission’s offices nationwide.
“In fact, a substantial part of it has already been received by our offices nationwide.
“And this has greatly facilitated the movement of sensitive materials yesterday from the branches of the central bank to our local government areas,” INEC says.
However, if INEC is unable to sort out logistics in time, the electoral umpire may have to postpone the election.
The chairperson of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday noted that the commission had consulted with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) who assured them of the availability of petroleum products.
The INEC chairperson says the sensitive materials have been delivered to the states and would be delivered to the polling units.
“We have completed arrangements with the transport unions for the final leg of the movement of personnel and materials to the polling units.
“They have assured us of their readiness to provide all the vehicular needs of the commission for the election,” he said.
“I want to assure Nigerians that we are adequately prepared for this election.
“We remain fully committed to a free, fair, and credible process.”
Military And Police Preparedness
INEC must ensure that voters are protected at the polling units.
This would be done by ensuring the provision of security operatives at the units.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, vows that the military will deal decisively with forces seeking to interfere with the presidential election.
The Nigeria Police Force has also assured of the provision of adequate security.
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Also, the Inspector General of Police, Akali Usman Baba, has promised the deployment of 310,973 personnel.
He said that the deployment of Police Commissioners to several states had been done.
However, if at the end of Friday, INEC is not satisfied with the security being provided; the commission may announce the postponement of the Presidential election.
The security operatives have embarked on a show of force to show their preparedness.
Show Of Force
Several states including the Federal Capital Territory and Lagos have witnessed a show of force in the last few days.
The show of force is an act carried out in a demonstration of the readiness of security operatives for the forthcoming election.
This is done to send a warning to persons planning to disrupt the electoral process at the polls.
It also seeks to assure voters that they are being protected and can vote without fear.
Security operatives have been patrolling around states heavily armed to show that they have enough to protect voters from thugs and persons with ill intentions at the polls.
