Presidency denies plot to postpone January 16 presidential election

The Presidency has dismissed as fake news allegations that the Federal Government is planning to postpone the January 16 presidential election, insisting that no such move is under consideration.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the Federal Government was unaware of any plan to alter the election date.

“The Federal Government is not planning to shift the date of the election or postpone any election. This is not in the works; the Federal Government is unaware of this, and this is just fake news as far as we are concerned,” Idris said.

His response followed an allegation by the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) that the Presidency was planning to summon the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, to the Presidential Villa and pressure him to alter the election timetable.

In a statement issued by its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the council alleged that the purported plan was being considered barely 80 days before the scheduled poll.

The ADC-PCC urged President Bola Tinubu to abandon any such move, while calling on Amupitan to resist any pressure to change the timetable and publicly disclose any attempt to influence the commission.

“The election date belongs to Nigerians. It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa,” the council said.

The opposition campaign council argued that Nigerians should be allowed to determine the fate of the Tinubu administration at the ballot box, following what it described as three and a half years of high prices, declining incomes and economic hardship.

“A government that has made life this difficult for Nigerians must not be allowed to postpone its day of judgment,” it added.

The council also raised concerns over suggestions that Ebola-related health risks could be cited as grounds for postponing the election. While acknowledging the seriousness of the disease, it cautioned against politicising the public health situation.

It urged health authorities to focus on containing the outbreak and called on INEC to put appropriate safety measures in place for voters and election officials.

The ADC-PCC further cited remarks attributed to the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) that there was currently no justification for postponing the poll.

It also called on INEC, domestic election observers and international monitors to remain vigilant, insisting that any proposal to alter the election timetable should be made openly, supported by published public health evidence and subjected to public scrutiny.

The Federal Government’s denial notwithstanding, the ADC-PCC’s allegation of a plan to postpone the election remains unsubstantiated in the information available.

No evidence was provided in the statement to establish that the alleged meeting with the INEC chairman had been scheduled or that any directive to change the election timetable had been issued.