2019 Election: Nigerians React As INEC Appoints President Buhari’s Niece ‘Amina Zakari’ As Collation Officer

Many Nigerians are reacting and criticizing the Independent and National Electoral Commission (INEC) for appointing President Muhammadu Buhari’s niece Mrs. Amina Zakari as head the collation center of the 2019 elections.

On Thursday, January 3, 2019, during an inauguration ceremony, the INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu appointed Amina Zakari to head the committee on collation center for the forthcoming election.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) follows up with a request asking Mahmood to withdraw the appointment in order to ensure a free and fair election.

In a statement released by the People’s Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization through its director on Media & Publicity Kola Ologbondiyan, Mrs. Zakari’s past involvement in electoral processes raise a cause for concern.

“While Prof. Mahmood Yakubu can no longer be trusted to conduct the 2019 general election, it is public knowledge that Mrs Amina Zakari, the INEC Director in charge of Operations and ICT, is a direct blood relation of Mr President and as such, we believe that she cannot be an impartial arbiter in an election involving her uncle.”

“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.”

Mrs. Zakari’s appointment is also met with mockery in a tweet by former state governor of Ekiti, Ayodele Fayose, known for hard criticism of Buhari’s government who asked:

 “why not just appoint one of the President’s children as INEC Chairman?”

Oby Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), who is looking to unseat Buhari in February, predicts a terrible outcome for the country if Zakari’s appointment is not reversed.