Election postponement angers Borno people

Residents and officials in Nigeria's northern Borno state have
expressed their disappointment after the electoral commission
announced it would postpone elections until March 28, six weeks later
than planned.
Attahiru Jega, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), said late on Saturday that security chiefs advised
a postponement as troops would not be available because of operations
against the armed group in the north – especially in Borno state.
"If the security of personnel, voters, election observers and election
material cannot be guaranteed, the lives of innocent young men and
women and the prospect of free, fair and credible elections will be
greatly jeopardised," Jega said.
But residents and officials in Borno state told Al Jazeera they
believed the elections should have gone ahead as planned on February
14.
"The mood here is that of huge disappointment – people were actually
ready for the elections here," said Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris,
reporting from Maiduguri.
"The deputy governor of Borno state … said they were ready and this is
a huge blow to their plans."
Our correspondent added that a lot of people who have been displaced
by fighting in the region had already been given their voting cards by
election commission officials.
The decision to postpone the vote came following a closed-door meeting
in Abuja between INEC, the ruling People's Democratic Party, its main
contender, the All Progressive Congress, and other opposition parties.
Officials in President Goodluck Jonathan's administration have been
calling for a postponement amid continuing violence as the country
battles Boko Haram.
However, civil rights groups, opposition political parties, and
Western countries opposed a later election date.
Protesters had gathered outside the electoral commission headquarters
in the capital, Abuja, for days, calling for elections to go ahead as
planned.
"Civil society organisations are calling for the resignation of the
election chair and Nigeria's security chiefs over the postponement of
the election, but that is unlikely to happen," said Al Jazeera's
Yvonne Ndege, reporting from the city.
"Nigeria's security services have failed to defeat Boko Haram in five
years. Some are asking how will they do it in six weeks, and whether
there is another motive behind the delay."
The incumbent has been locked in a tight race with former military
ruler Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.
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APC national chairman John Odigie-Oyegun called the delay "a major
setback for Nigerian democracy" and "highly provocative".
But he added: "I strongly appeal to all Nigerians to remain calm and
desist from violence and any activity which will compound this
unfortunate development."
The decision to postpone the election also drew condemnation from the
United States, which said it was "deeply disappointed" by the delay.
In a statement, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned the Nigerian
government against using "security concerns as a pretext for impeding
the democratic process."
Nigeria and its four neighbouring nations on Saturday pledged to
deploy 8,700 troops, police and civilians as part of a regional effort
to fight Boko Haram.
"The representatives of Benin, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad have
announced contributions totalling 8,700 military personnel, police and
civilians," the countries said in a statement after a meeting in
Cameroon's capital Yaounde
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