Buhari denies blood relationship with her…
Group of opposition parties, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other stakeholders in the 2019 elections have again called for removal of Amina Zakari as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Ad hoc Committee on National Collation Centre.
They threatened to boycott the Peace Accord initiated by the Gen Abdusalami Abubakar-led National Peace Committee if Zakari remains the chairman of the INEC’s Ad hoc Committee on National Collation Centre..
This is coming after President Muhammadu Buhari has denied sharing family affinity with embattled Amina Zakari, a commissioner representing Jigawa State at the INEC.
Zakari was on Thursday announced as the Chairman of the coalition committee
A statement signed by the president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Friday, said: “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.”
But the coalition spoke in a statement by its first national spokesperson, Imo Ugochinyere, on Thursday.
Ugochinyere said, “The desperation of the President must be reined in now before it is too late. We categorically reject this appointment and will consider very drastic measures including pulling out of the peace accord which does not repose a commensurate responsibility of the President to allow INEC to conduct credible, free and fair elections.
IPAC also called on INEC to immediately rescind the appointment of Zakari as the chairperson of the committee on National Collation Centre.
IPAC is the body officially recognised by INEC to speak on behalf of all political parties in the country.
Addressing journalists on Friday, the President of IPAC, Mr. Peter Ameh, asked INEC to remove Zakari for the sake of transparency and fairness.