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The National Security Adviser, Sambo Dsuki, has called for the postponement of next month general election to enable the Independent National Electoral Commission complete the distribution of millions of biometric ID cards to voters.
Dasuki said on Thursday he had told the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, that a postponement within the three months allowed by the law would be a good idea.
However, the All Progressive Congress has said it would oppose any postponement, and the electoral commission said it had not received any such official communication from Dasuki, Reuters reports.
The elections, currently scheduled for February 14, will be the first where Nigeria’s 68.8 million voters must have a biometric cards — a measure introduced to guard against fraud that has plagued past polls.
But there have been technical glitches in data collection and officials have not explained how they will hold the election in parts of the northeast gripped by a violent uprising by Boko Haram rebels.
How Nigeria conducts this poll will be closely watched by investors and foreign powers, amid the uprising and an economic crisis linked to low oil prices.
Dasuki, speaking at London think-tank Chatham House, said INEC had distributed 30 million cards in the past year but had another 30 million to hand out.
He said INEC had assured him it would achieve this in time for the February date, but he thought it would make more sense to take more time and there was a 90-day window during which the election could legally take place.
BBC Video of NSA Sambo Dasuki Proposing Election Delay
