Amina Zakari not Buhari’s blood relation- Presidency

The presidency says President Muhammadu Buhari and Amina Zakari, a national commissioner at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), are not blood relations.

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said this in a statement on Friday.

The clarification came after nepotism controversy around Zakari was reignited following her appointment as head of the INEC committee on collation centre.

The PDP had rejected the appointment, alleging that she is related to the president by blood and as such could not be trusted to be fair.

The party had also made the same allegation in the past.

“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,” Shehu countered.

Read also: AMINA ZAKARI: Ezekwesili fumes, warns of grave consequence

“In their desperation, they 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.

“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.”

He said the PDP, therefore, has no moral right to “keep harassing this hardworking mother unless they have a hidden agenda.”

Zakari had been at the commission’s department of health and welfare after being redeployed as the head of electoral operations and logistics, a redeployment that followed the PDP’s accusation that she was working for Buhari.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now