2019 Elections: PDP Kicks Over Amina Zakari’s Appointment

BY SEGUN ADEBAYO, ABUJA – Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised an alarm over the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari, as chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Advisory Committee and Election Collation Centre Committee, claiming that it is an outright scheme to rig the February 16 presidential polls for the All Progressives Congress (APC), candidate, Muhammedu Buhari.

Director, Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Council (PDPCO), Kola Ologbondiyan said the party is totally rejecting the choice of Mrs. Zakari, a relative of President Buhari, for obvious reasons and reservations it had expressed in its previous statements

In a media briefing at the PDP’s Presidential Campaign headquarters on Thursday, Mr Ologbondiyan said as a blood relation (niece) of Mr President, Mrs Zakari’s appointment to such sensitive position is a sure way of compromising the electoral process to favour the ruling APC

According to Ologbondiyan, “Today (Thursday), we have been informed that the Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, apparently in furtherance of the plots to rig the Presidential election, has appointed Mrs. Amina Zakari, a blood relation (niece) of the APC’s candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari, as the Chairperson of INEC Advisory Committee and Presidential election Collation Center Committee.

“The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO), out-rightly, vehemently and unequivocally rejects, in its entirety, the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari, President Buhari’s blood relation, as the head of the collation of results, in the same election in which his uncle, President Buhari, as a candidate, has displayed a huge desperation to win.”

The main opposition party spokesman further said; “The appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari, who had been openly accused in various quarters as being the link person between INEC and the Buhari Presidency in their schemes to rig the election for President Buhari, constitutes a direct violence against the Presidential election and the PDP will not, in any way, whatsoever, accept it.

“This is the same Amina Zakari, who headed the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department of INEC at the time that department was accused of manipulating the INEC voters’ register to accommodate fictitious, underage and alien voters, particularly, in remote areas where they plan to allocate and announce conjured votes for President Buhari and the APC.

Also, the PDP said; “It will interest Nigerians to note that this is the same Amina Zakari that was alleged to have played some roles in the 2018 governorship election in Osun state, where the electoral processes were flagrantly abused.

“In appointing Mrs. Amina Zakari to head the collation of this Presidential election, Professor Yakubu has confirmed that he has been compromised and that he has already succumbed to pressure by the Presidency and APC to open the way for the self-succession of President Buhari,” the party said.

The PDPCO Media Director alleged that given all the complaints about Amina Zakari’s performance as INEC National Commissioner, there was no way she will not be tempted to “allocate votes to her blood relation, President Buhari, whom Nigerians have indicated clearly that they are not ready to return to office as President.”

Ologbondiyan said with her “at the head of results collation, there is no way votes cast by Nigerians will count”, adding; “We call on all Nigerians and particularly the National Peace Committee to note that with the appointment of Amina Zakari, as head the collation of Presidential results, the INEC Chairman is setting the stage for a very huge political crisis, which is capable of derailing our democratic process.”

He said; “We also urge the United Nations and other global democratic institutions to take copious note of this noxious appointment by the INEC Chairman. “If the INEC Chairman wants a peaceful Presidential election, he should, with the speed of light, reverse himself on this appointment.”

The PDP insisted that there would be grave consequences if the 2019 polls fall short of the credibility test in the eyes of Nigerians as well as the global community.