President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday formally signed off on constitutional changes allowing elections to be held in April after a previous attempt to move the ballot forward fell flat.
The signing comes with the dates for the April presidential, state and legislative elections already set and preparations underway.
“Today is a unique day in the history of our country,” Jonathan said at a signing ceremony. “For the National Assembly to successfully amend the constitution means they have been working in concert with the executive.”
Lawmakers had initially voted to change the constitution to move the ballot forward from April to January, with the stated intent to allow more time for electoral disputes to be resolved before the May swearing-in date.
Electoral officials later said the January date left too little time for preparations in Africa’s most populous nation, leading to another round of constitutional changes to push the elections back to April.