Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of his rumoured in-law, Mrs. Amina Zakari, as Acting Chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is illegal.
Fayose in a statement by his special assistant said “The most honourable thing for President Buhari to do is to rescind the unlawful appointment of Mrs. Zakari as INEC acting chairperson.
“Since Zakari’s tenure as INEC National Electoral Commissioner has expired, she cannot continue to preside legally over INEC’s affairs, except if duly appointed as substantive Chairman of the commission as provided in Section 154 (1) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“One of the major legacies bequeathed to Nigeria by the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government was free, fair and credible electoral process and President Buhari, who is a beneficiary of this legacy must sustain this legacy by ensuring that the impartiality of the electoral umpire is unblemished by suspicions of partisanship and illegal appointments.
“Two weeks ago, respected former lawmaker and former top civil servant, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, revealed that he knew Zakari since childhood, and that her late father, the former Emir of Kazaure, was married to President Buhari’s elder sister.
“Yakassai went on to reveal that President Buhari lived with and spent a significant part of his early years in the home of Amina Zakari’s father.
“This is enough establishment of conviviality between Zakari and President Buhari, whose party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), will be standing elections with other political parties this year and this will no doubt cast credibility aspersion on any election conducted by INEC headed by Zakari.
“Section 154 (3) provided that the president shall consult the Council of State in exercising his powers to appoint a person as the chairman of INEC and there is no record of such consultation before the appointment of Zakari as INEC ‘Acting Chairperson.’
“The only requisite condition for Zakari to be acting as the chairman of INEC is that she must be a National Electoral Commissioner and her tenure as National Electoral Commissioner ended on July 21, 2015.
“As at today, there are four National Electoral Commissioners in INEC instead of 12. They are Abdukadir Sulaimanu Oniyangi, Mohammad Ahmad Wali, Chris Iyimoga and Lawrence Nwuruku. If anyone should act as INEC chairman, it should be any of the remaining four National Electoral Commissioners, not someone whose tenure has expired.”
