New INEC boss, Zakari is not acceptable, alleges hidden agenda~PDP

Firstclass newsline gathered that the Peoples Democratic Party on
Wednesday rejected the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as the Acting
National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The PDP also asked that the first female to head the country's
electoral body be sacked immediately because her appointment was
allegedly facilitated by a relationship with the Presidency and ties
with some new governors in the north.
The opposition party equally alleged that Zakari's appointment would
give the All Progressives Congress an upper hand at the various
election petitions tribunals.
"The PDP has declared the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as
unacceptable and demands that President (Muhammadu) Buhari changes her
immediately," the National Publicity Secretary of the opposition
party, Chief Olisa Metuh, said at a crowded press briefing in Abuja.
Zakari was appointed as the acting boss of the commission on Tuesday
by Buhari, few hours after the former chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega,
had handed over to Amb. Ahmed Wali.
Both Zakari and Wali were national commissioners with the electoral
body, but Zakari, appointed by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, as INEC
national commissioner was a senior to Wali.
While the acting chairman is due for retirement as national
commissioner on July 31, 2015, the tenure of Wali ends on August 11,
2015.
As of the time of this report it had not been established why Jega
bypassed her and handed over to Wali.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kifasi,
who conveyed Zakari's appointment in a letter, said it was with effect
from June 30, 2015 "until the appointment of a substantive chairman."
But the PDP alleged that the new acting INEC chairman, who took over
the running of the electoral body on Wednesday with a pledge to work
towards the improvement of the electoral process, "is too close to the
Presidency."
Metuh at the Wednesday's briefing however said that his party would
want Zakari to state her alleged closeness to the Presidency and one
of the governors of the All Progressives Congress from the North-West.
Firstclass newsline gathered that the PDP might be referring to the
period Zakari served as Secretary, Health and Human Service;
Secretary, Social Development; and Acting Secretary, Agriculture and
Rural Development at the Federal Capital Territory Administration in
2004.
During the period, the new Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir
el-Rufai, was the minister in charge of the territory.
The PDP spokesman said, "The PDP is particularly disturbed by the
development in INEC where President Buhari, who knew all along that
the immediate-past INEC chairman, Prof. Jega would be leaving office
by June 30, had to wait for him to hand over to one of the national
commissioners only to reverse it immediately, thereby injecting bad
blood in the commission.
"The situation in INEC since the PDP government reformed and granted
it operational autonomy has been peaceful, but Tuesday's untidy
overruling of Prof. Jega and appointment of Zakari as acting chairman,
which, we gathered, was influenced by personal relationship with the
Presidency and one of the new governors of the North-West, ostensibly
to pave the way for the APC at the electoral tribunals, has completely
eroded public trust in the commission.
"Whereas the PDP recognises the right and powers of the President to
appoint the chairman of INEC and the Accountant General of the
Federation, we reject attempts as in the case of the AGF to paint the
process as transparent and objective when such was not the case, but
brought to question the sincerity and commitment of the present
administration to due process.
"In INEC, the PDP states in unequivocal terms that we cannot, as
critical stakeholders, fold our hands and watch while the Presidency
perpetuate actions that diminish the independence of the electoral
commission.
"The PDP has declared the appointment of Zakari as unacceptable and
demand that President Buhari changes her immediately."
Metuh said that his party believed that due process was not observed
in the appointment of the acting INEC boss and that Zakari had
allegedly shown in the last elections that "she is manifestly bias in
favour of the APC."
Metuh however failed to state where and how Zakari showed bias as alleged.
He also said that with the prevailing record of Buhari on
appointments, it is unlikely that a substantive INEC chairman will be
appointed in the next one year.
"Is there a hidden agenda? Has Mrs. Zakari been handed a script to act
given that we have cases in the tribunals in addition to the
forthcoming elections in Kogi and Bayelsa?" he asked.
Meanwhile, at a brief handover ceremony, which held at the INEC
headquarters, Abuja, on Wednesday, Zakari said, "I accept this with
humility and added dedication to serve. We hope to see the continued
improvement of the electoral processes in the country."
She said that the success achieved under the chairmanship of Jega must
be consolidated.
Jega had received both local and international accolades for the
successful conduct of the 2015 elections, considered to be fair and
transparent.
Reacting to the PDP allegations, the Presidency said Zakari's
appointment was based on merit.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi
Adesina, in a statement on Wednesday, said that President Buhari
followed due process in appointing Zakari to head the commission in
acting capacity.
Adesina's statement read in part, "Contrary to Mr. Metuh's
allegations, President Buhari's appointment of Mrs. Zakari as acting
INEC chairman was based entirely on merit, her vast experience in the
internal operations of INEC and the President's commitment to
affirmative action in support of gender equality, because, apart from
being fully qualified for the position, Mrs. Zakari was the only woman
among the six commissioners considered.
"Due process was certainly followed in Mrs. Zakari's appointment.
"Mr. Metuh's spurious claims of her appointment having been influenced
by 'personal relationship with the Presidency and a governor in the
North-West to pave the way for the APC' at the election tribunals
should be disregarded by the public.
"The allegations are nothing but falsehoods contrived by Mr. Metuh to
unjustly denigrate a President popularly elected by Nigerians to undo
the damage done to the nation by years of PDP rule.
"His claim that the PDP has rejected Mrs. Zakari's appointment is also
laughable after he had admitted that the right and power of the
President to make such appointments cannot be questioned."
Firstclassnewsline.net