Amina Zakari has no family link with Buhari, says INEC

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor  Yakubu Mahmood, has denied any family link between President Muhammadu Buhari and Amina Zakari.

The INEC boss said the controversy surrounding the appointment of Mrs Zakari as head of Collation centre is needless, as she is not from the same state of origin with the president.

The main opposition party, PDP, and a coalition of some opposition parties, CUPP, had criticised the Thursday announcement by INEC that Mrs Zakari has been appointed as head of the Collation centre.

But Professor Mahmood told journalists that Amina Zakari is in charge of welfare and activities at the collation centre and not the collation officer.

The head of the electoral umpire insists that he remains the national collation officer and will never share that role with anybody.

Presidency reacts to PDP allegation

Also, the presidency on Friday defended the appointment of Amina Zakari as head of the collation centre for the general elections by the electoral commission, INEC.

In a statement by Garba Shehu, President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesperson, on Friday, the presidency said the accusations by the PDP against Mrs Zakari were “baseless.”

The presidential spokesperson said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 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,” Shehu said.