The announcement by Nigeria’s electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on 7th February of the shift in the earlier scheduled date for the 2015 general elections from 14th and 28th February to 28th March and 11th April, was received with widespread condemnation from within and outside Nigeria. Many groups, especially the leading opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), perceived it to be a deliberate tactic by the incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan, and his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to buy more time to woo voters in their favour, fearing that if the election was conducted on the earlier scheduled dates, it would have resulted in a massive defeat for them.
