ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria again postponed some elections for the oil-rich country's National Assembly on Thursday, though the man running the polls promised the majority of the races would be held as planned Saturday.
Independent National Electoral Commission chairman Attahiru Jega said about 15 per cent of the races scheduled to be held would be delayed until April 26 as officials don't have ballots for the races. The remaining races will be held on Saturday as scheduled.
"We will do our best to revive hope and confidence in the process," Jega told a news conference broadcast live on television networks and radio stations across Africa's most populous nation.
He later added: "We have to keep hope alive."
Jega's announcement comes after he twice delayed the poll for the National Assembly, positions worth more than $1 million in salaries and perks — not counting the power to subvert the billions of dollars in oil revenues the country earns each year. Officials attempted to hold the elections April 2, but ballots papers and tally sheets remained missing from polling stations across the country.