ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria’s presidential election was delayed by a week due to delays in transporting electoral material and was not a result of external pressure, the chairman of the electoral commission said on Saturday.

Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), said some sensitive election material had been distributed but all had been returned to the central bank and an audit would now be conducted.

Yakubu announced in the early hours of Saturday that the vote would now be held on Feb. 23.