THE Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO) on Saturday stated that President Muhammadu Buhari’s admittance that he had an inter-marriage relationship with Mrs Amina Zakari, a National Commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has vindicated its stance that she could not be trusted with the collation of the Presidential election results.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja yesterday by the Director of Media and Publicity of the Campaign Organisation, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan.
The PPCO also challenged President Buhari, to in the same vein, respond to the elder statesman, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, who, more than two years ago, in a media interview, exposed the fact that he, Mr President, in his nepotism, nominated Amina Zakari, his niece, and pushed her appointment as commissioner to represent his interest in the Commission.
According to the statement, “It is now clear that in addition to the relationship by affinity, President Buhari also has a consanguinity relationship with Amina Zakari and has not denied that he started his early childhood in Amina Zakari’s father’s house.
“President Buhari’s admittance has effectively established that the PDP has not been crying wolf on the impropriety of involving Mrs Amina Zakari in the collation of Presidential election results, let alone being appointed to head the final determination of the Presidential election.
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“It is totally unethical and immoral for an umpire to insist on officiating a contest even when her impartiality is called to question. Even in the judiciary, judges recuse themselves in cases involving parties they have an affinity with. Mrs Amina Zakari must, therefore, recuse herself, if the 2019 presidential election must be credible.
“If, indeed, President Buhari is a man of integrity and is not pushing an ulterior motive with Amina Zakari, why is he insisting that she must be in INEC and that she must be at the collation of Presidential result?
“Furthermore, if President Buhari believes he is popular among Nigerians and can win in a free and fair contest, why is he fixated at manipulating the electoral process, instead of allowing INEC to have a free hand to conduct this election? His overbearingness on INEC is portentous and we caution that such is pushing the nation to the brinks
“We counsel Mr President not to allow his personal interest and lust for power set our nation on fire.
“Mrs Amina Zakari has become a major identified threat to Nigeria’s democracy, national stability and corporate existence as a nation.
“Now that she has been busted, Nigerians expect her to quietly resign from INEC, instead of allowing her name in the book of infamy, as the tool used to derail our democracy and plunge our nation into crisis.”
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