The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the immediate reversal of the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as the acting National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alleging favoritism and hidden agenda.
The party restated its position that President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government had so far failed to convince Nigerians of their capability to provide leadership and steer the ship of state creditably.
Rising from a meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) Wednesday, the PDP approved the zoning of the party’s principal officers. Under the zoning structure, the party said the South-south is to produce Minority Leader, Minority Whip (North-central), Deputy Minority Leader (North-east) while Deputy Minority Whip will emerge from the South-west.
Similarly, the party zoned the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives to the South-south, Minority Whip (North-west), Deputy Minority Leader (South-east) and Deputy Minority Whip (North-east). In approving the zoning formula, the party advised its lawmakers to use the various zonal party caucuses to choose the party’s principal officers in consonance with the provision of National Assembly Standing Rules. It charged the legislators to ensure that they provide effective opposition in the respective chambers of the National Assembly.
Briefing journalists after the NWC meeting at the party headquarters, the National Publicity Secretary of party, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the party was particularly disturbed by the appointment of Zakari as acting INEC Chairman.
“The PDP has declared the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as unacceptable and demand that President Buhari changes her immediately,” he said. Metuh said the PDP was particularly concerned that Buhari, who knew all along that the immediate-past INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega would be leaving office by June 30, had to wait for him to handover 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 Jega and appointing 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 recognizes the right and powers of the president to appoint the Chairman of INEC and the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), 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 perpetuates actions that diminish the independence of the electoral commission. “Our reasons include the fact that due process was not observed in the appointment and that Zakari has shown in the last elections that she is manifestly bias in favour of the APC. Finally her appointment is a clear case of nepotism.
“We ask, if they trusted Jega and commended him for conducting free and fair elections, why would they not trust him on who to hold forth in the commission until a substantive Chairman is appointed, rather than appointing someone who is retiring from the commission in the next three weeks?
“With the prevailing record of Mr. President 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?
Metuh further said the PDP finds it sycophantic, insincere and the height of deceit for the APC to continue to deceive President Buhari by parading voodoo achievements and pretending that all is well with the nation when it is not.
He also expressed dissatisfaction over APC’s continued play on the intelligence of the people by dishing out imaginary achievements in the media even when it is evident to all that the nation is stagnating as a result of the president’s lack direction and capacity to meet the expectations of Nigerians.
Apart from the recent fall of naira to an all-time low, PDP spokesman said business at the country’s stock exchange market has continued to noose-dive.
“It is indeed amusing that a party in power in a press conference on Tuesday claimed progress in the fight against terrorism when the effort has lost steam in the last 32 days with insurgents, who under the Goodluck Jonathan administration were already at the verge of surrender in the Sambisa now surging back into the country.
“How can a political party attempt to deceive Nigerians and the president when the economy has plummeted under their watch with a terrifying crippling of foreign and domestic investments and the stock market losing over N350 billion because of the prevailing uncertainty and confusion in the system?
“More astonishing is the fact that a ruling party and a government of a sovereign nation and strong international voice like Nigeria are parading mere promissory notes from foreign interests as achievements, instead of settling down to galvanize resources and potentials that abound in our country,” he said.
However, the presidency last night said due process was adhered to in the appointment of Zakari. A statement issued by the presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, said: “We have noted with regret, the latest tirade against President Buhari issued today by the PDP spokesman, Metuh.
“Other than boring reporters at his press conference with a rehash of baseless allegations of inaction against the president, Metuh clearly had nothing new to say apart from his charge of nepotism and partisanship in the appointment of the acting INEC chairman, which also lacks any factual foundation.
“President Buhari certainly did not ‘overrule’ Jega in appointing Zakari as the acting INEC Chairman, as Metuh alleged. “Jega’s purported handing over to another commissioner cannot be construed as an “appointment” because only the President has the constitutional authority, which he exercised to appoint Zakari as acting Chairman of INEC.
“Contrary to Metuh’s allegations, President Buhari’s appointment of Zakari as Acting INEC Chariman 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 Zakari’s appointment. 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 election tribunals should be disregarded by the public.” Adesina said the allegations were nothing but falsehoods contrived by Metuh to unjustly denigrate a president popularly elected by Nigerians to undo the damage done to the nation by years of PDP rule.
According to him, Metuh’s claim that the PDP had rejected Zakari’s appointment was also laughable after he (Metuh) had admitted that the right and power of the president to make such appointments cannot be questioned.
