INEC: Presidency Finally Reacts To Amina Zakari’s Appointment

The Presidency has finally reacted to criticisms trailing the appointment of an alleged niece of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs Amina Zakari, as head of INEC collation center for the 2019 presidential election.

THE WHISTLER had reported how Zakari’s appointment on Thursday drew condemnations from Nigerians who mostly expressed fears that she may interfere in the conduct of free and fair elections in 2019.

The leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had described her appointment as “another heinous machination by the Buhari Presidency and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to subvert the will of the people and rig the February 16 Presidential election.”

But reacting to the criticisms, the Presidency described as “baseless” claims that Zakari may help President Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) rig the 2019 elections.

“In another mendacious press release, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued their baseless accusations regarding Hajiya Amina Zakari, a commissioner in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accusing her of partiality and casting doubts about her integrity as an electoral commissioner,” Garba Shehu, President Buhari’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said in a statement on Friday.

“In their desperation, they forget that it was the PDP government that appointed her in the first place and they keep lying, as they have been caught doing on so many issues, by imputing a blood relationship between her and President Muhammadu Buhari.

“President Buhari and Commissioner Amina Zakari don’t share a family relationship. An inter-marriage occurred in their extended families, so the imputation of blood relationship between the President and the electoral commissioner is a simple lie.

“What is even more curious about all the fuss coming from the PDP is that they, as a ruling party picked Mrs Zakari, judging her by her own merit and made her an electoral commissioner.

“She served so well with distinction as can be verified from the records that President Buhari approved the recommendation that she be reappointed, as he did other PDP nominees for second-term of four years.

“PDP, therefore, has no moral right to keep harassing this hardworking mother unless they have a hidden agenda.

“By this statement, the PDP is guilty of scoring an own goal and two, of harassing an innocent citizen on the basis of a lie, pure and simple,” said Shehu.