Nigeria’s presidential and parliamentary elections have been delayed for a week, says the country’s election commission on Friday. The elections which were due today has been rescheduled for Saturday 23 February.

The announcement came after an emergency meeting at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in the capital, Abuja.
“Proceeding with the election as scheduled is no longer feasible,” INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu said.

Yakubu said the decision was made following a “careful review” of the election “operational plan”, adding that there was a “determination to conduct free, fair and credible elections”.

He said the delay was necessary to give the commission time to address vital issues and “maintain the quality of our elections”, but did not provide further details.

In the past two weeks several INEC offices have been set alight, with thousands of electronic smart card readers and voter cards destroyed. There have also been claims of shortages of election material in some of the country’s 36 states.

Nigeria has been forced to bolster its security, with the run-up to the elections marred by violence.

There are 73 registered candidates in the presidential election, but campaigning has been dominated by President Muhammadu Buhari, 76, and his main challenger, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, 72.

Buhari says he has built a strong foundation for prosperity, but his rival says Nigeria is not functioning.

Whoever wins will have to address power shortages, corruption, security problems and a sluggish economy.