PDP rejects Zakari as INEC presidential election collation head, says ‘she is Buhari’s niece’

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the appointment
of Amina Zakari, a niece of President Muhammadu Buhari, as the
chairman of the result collation committee for the upcoming general
election.

The party at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday noted that
by making the appointment, the Chairman of the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, was creating
a self-succession plan for the president.

Kola Ologbodiyan, the Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP
Presidential Campaign Council, who addressed the conference, told
newsmen that the appointment of Zakari, who is the INEC
Commissioner in charge of Health and Welfare, is unacceptable
because of the numerous previous allegations against her.

He said the PDP will not allow itself to be rigged out of the
election.

The PDP spokesman recalled that the party had raised several
alarms on the intention of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to
use INEC to manipulate the election but they had fallen on deaf
ears.

He said: “You will recall that we have been raising the flag on
how the Buhari Presidency, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and
some individuals at the echelon of INEC have been seeking ways to
compromise our electoral processes and open the way for the
allocation of fictitious votes to President Muhammadu Buhari,
having realized that he cannot win in a credible, free and fair
polls.

“Today, we have been informed that the Chairman of INEC, Prof.
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 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) outrightly, 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 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 ICT Department of
INEC at the time that department was accused of manipulating the
INEC voter 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.

“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, Prof. Yakubu has confirmed that he has been
compromised and that he has already succumbed to pressure by the
Buhari Presidency and APC to open the way for the self-succession
of President Buhari.

“The fact remains that there is no way Amina Zakari will not
allocate votes to her blood relation, President Buhari, whom
Nigerians have indicated clearly that they are not ready to return
to office as President.

“With Amina Zakari at the head of results collation, there is no
way votes cast by Nigerians will count.

“We, therefore, 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.”

The main opposition party also called on the international
community including the United Nations and other global democratic
institutions to take copious note of this noxious appointment by
the INEC Chairman.

Ologbodiyan further states: “If the INEC Chairman wants a
peaceful Presidential election, he should, with the speed of light,
reverse himself on this appointment.

“In fact, the PPCO reiterates its position that for us to have a
peaceful election, Mrs Amina Zakari should not be seen anywhere
near any of the 2019 election processes, not to talk of being
involved in the collation of Presidential results

“The PDP remains committed to a peaceful and credible process,
but we will never, in any way, allow anybody to use any means,
under any guise whatsoever, to rig us out in this election. Not
after it is clear that Nigerians have attained a consensus to rally
behind our Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as their next
President.

“All we ask for is a free, fair, credible and transparent
electoral process in which the votes of Nigerians will not only
count but will be seen to have counted.

“Like Mr. President said during his 2019 budget presentation at
the National Assembly, the world is watching us.”

The PDP spokesman also alerted that the Kogi State government
has denied the party in the state the use of Lokoja stadium for
political rallies.

According to him, this is contrary to what obtains in PDP
controlled state like Akwa Ibom where the governor, Udom Emmanuel,
not only provided the stadium for the APC, but also ensured that
the ruling party’s rally was successful.