The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Thursday instigated what a political observer described as ‘’harsh and rash conversations’’ about doubts over its neutrality in the forthcoming general elections with the appointment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s niece, Mrs. Amina Zakari, as the chairperson of the Presidential Election Collation Committee.
The main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and some other stakeholders immediately described Zakari’s appointment as an outright manipulation, challenging the president to excuse his niece if he is actually committed to free, fair and credible elections.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who had consistently maintained that he was committed to credible elections, disclosed the appointment of Zakari while inaugurating two ad-hoc committees, as part of the commission’s determination to ensure seamless preparations for the general election.
He said the commission decided to set up the committees to drive important component of the electoral process, adding that the first committee would be responsible for logistics, while the second committee would be responsible for collation of presidential election results.
Yakubu noted that the commission was aware that the conduct of general election is the biggest and the most complex logistics operations that a nation could undertake.
According to him, “Sensitive and non-sensitive materials procured by the organisation must be delivered to almost 200,000 locations nationwide, ranging from the polling units, to the various wards, to local government, states and the national collation centres for the 1,558 constituencies in which elections will be conducted.”
The chairman stressed that for the general elections, the electoral logistics committee would be responsible for coordinating logistics, as well as the clearance and transportation of electoral materials to various locations nationwide.
“At the end of the elections, sensitive materials will be retrieved from the same locations. The same process will be repeated for each of the two phases of the 2019 general elections; namely the Presidential and National Assembly elections holding on 16th February, and Governorship, State Assembly and FCT Area council elections holding on the 2nd of March,” the INEC boss said.
Yakubu said the committee includes relevant security agencies whose roles are clearly defined in section 29(3) of the electoral Act 2010 as amended.
The composition of the electoral logistics committee include some national commissioners, AVM Hamed Muazu (rtd), Engr. Abubakar Lamuche, and Mallam Muhammed Haruna.
Others include, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Customs Service, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Immigration Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Services, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force, Director Electoral Operations and Logistics Department of INEC; Director Estate Works and Transport, INEC; Director Procurement, INEC; and Director Stores, INEC, as the Secretary of the committee.
Yakubu added that the second ad-hoc committee which is entirely internal to the commission, which does not include external members, shall be responsible for the national collation centre where result of the presidential election will be announced.
He explained, “It will serve as the secretariat for the collation of results and venue for briefing of international observers, as well as the media. It will also be responsible and accessible to all the agents of the 73 political parties fielding candidates for the presidential election.
“That committee, which is entirely internal to the commission is made up of the following, National Commissioner, Amina Zakari, Chairperson; Mr. Festus Okoye; Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, members.”
The chairman also noted that as was the case in 2015, the commission would use International Conference Centre, Abuja, for the collation of result of the presidential election, reassuring Nigerians that the commission was on course to deliver credible elections this year.
He also revealed that the commission would meet with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Friday by 4.00p.m, noting that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the on-going strike by the union but only in relation to the election.
Yakubu stressed, “We are concerned that the bulk of the critical election duty staff are drawn from our universities. We are determined to ensure that the processes are not affected by the union’s industrial action. ASUU remains a critical partner to the commission on delivering credible election. We look forward to the meeting and confident of a positive outcome.
‘’The commission has similarly contacted another critical partner the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). The commission plans to meet with the leadership of NLC next week.”
Meanwhile the major opposition party, PDP, said that Zakari’s appointment was part of what it called the machination by the presidency and INEC to subvert the will of the people and rig the February 16, presidential election.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan
The Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, while addressing a press conference Thursday in Abuja, said that the appointment of Zakari, who had been openly accused in various quarters as being the link person between INEC and the presidency, constitutes a direct violence against the presidential election, insisting that the PDP would not, in any way, whatsoever, accept it.
He said, “You will recall that we have been raising the flag on how the Buhari-led 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 poll.
“The PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation out-rightly, vehemently and unequivocally reject, 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.”
In appointing Zakari to head the presidential election collation centre, Ologbondiyan said Yakubu has confirmed that he has been compromised and that he has already succumbed to pressure by the presidency and APC to open the way for the self-succession of President Buhari.
He emphasised that there is no way Zakari would not allocate votes to her blood relation, Buhari, whom Nigerians have indicated clearly that they are not ready to return to office as president.
Ologbondiyan said, “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. With 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 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 party also urged the United Nations and other global democratic institutions to take copious note of this noxious appointment by the INEC chairman, adding that if he 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. 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”, he added.
Also reacting, one of the spokespersons of the party’s presidential campaign council, Mr. Kassim Afegbua, said Zakari’s appointment would go to confirm that the 2019 election is programmed for rigging.
He said, “I wouldn’t believe this; but if it turns out to be true, it will go to confirm our fears that the 2019 election is programmed for rigging. We have raised series of concerns over the unholy strategic roles that Amina Zakari had played in previous election and why we had accused INEC of working from answer to question.
‘’This new position if confirmed to be true, is a further confirmation of the subterranean plots being masterminded by INEC to ensure that votes figures are manipulated in favour of President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC), reason why the APC has not been campaigning.”
