PPCO asks N/Assembly to prevail on Buhari to remove Zakari from INEC

The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO) has asked the National Assembly to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to order the removal of Amina Zakari from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Zakari was appointed as Chairperson of the INEC Advisory Committee and Presidential Election Collation Center Committee ahead of the February 16, election.

Addressing a press conference on Friday in Abuja, the Director Media and Publicity of the PPCO, Kola Ologbondiyan said the National Assembly and Buhari should save the nation from “the looming political crisis in the country”, pointing out that Zakari is Buhari’s niece.

“Our position is predicated on the fact that it is clear to all that Amina Zakari’s uncle, President Buhari, having been rejected by Nigerians, is now using her as virus to compromise the independence of the commission, manipulate the electoral process and rig the presidential election for him.

“The Buhari Presidency has been using Amina Zakari to bear pressure on INEC even to the extent of brazenly foisting her as the collation officer for the presidential election to enable President Buhari announce himself as winner.

“The PPCO holds that a credible electoral commission must be completely impartial, transparent, totally independent and immune from external control by interested entities. These are qualities INEC can no longer lay claim to as long as Amina Zakari remains a member of the commission.

“By foisting Mrs. Amina Zakari to lead the final process of the election, President Buhari is seeking a way to annex INEC, practically, take over the collation of results, and announce himself the winner.

“This is a clear invitation to anarchy and a huge political crisis capable of derailing our democracy because Nigerians, across the board, are already in vehement rejection of this self-succession plot and are now, more than ever before, ready to use every necessary means available and accessible to them in a democracy to protect our democratic process.

“We therefore, urge Nigerians and lovers of democracy all over the world to unite in condemning this scheme by the Buhari Presidency to use Amina Zakari to enmesh our election into unnecessary controversy and trigger a political crisis in our country, just because they have realized that President Buhari cannot win the Presidential election,” the PPCO said.