Nigeria's electoral commission has set dates for the country's national, state and regional elections.

The commission says elections for president and the national assembly will take place April 21st of next year.  Polls for state governor positions and regional assemblies will be held a week earlier, on April 14.

The chairman of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission said provisions have been made so any runoffs can be held before a May 29 deadline for the next government to take office.

President Olusegun Obasanjo finishes his second four-year term in May. The Nigerian president won elections in 1999 and 2003.

Earlier this year, the Nigerian parliament voted against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed Mr. Obasanjo to run for a third term.