Embattled North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo will not officially announce his decision to step down from his role as head of the province on Wednesday morning as expected.

A message from his office told journalists that the briefing had been “postponed indefinitely”.

The advisory said this was due to new developments overnight.

“The provincial leadership of the ANC has directed that I not resign until the PEC has met today,” Mahumapelo told News24 on Wednesday morning.

It’s understood an emergency meeting had been called to discuss his decision.

The premier told News24 on Tuesday: “Tomorrow I am packing my bags and going home.”

He also confirmed to the SABC that he was stepping down. Earlier, he told the Speaker of the North West provincial legislature that he would submit a letter to her before Friday.

The ANC provincial executive committee had also “apprehensively” accepted his resignation, it said in a late night statement. At this stage, there is no clear reason why it would have backtracked from this position.

The North West province has been embroiled in violent protests as ANC members and residents called for Mahumapelo to resign.

The province has also been rocked by allegations of widespread corruption, with Mahumapelo’s office having been raided by specialised policing unit the Hawks over alleged corruption and maladministration.

The North West health department has also been placed under administration by President Cyril Ramaphosa. He has also appointed an inter-ministerial committee to assess the state of the province.