The Director of Media of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Festus Keyamo has cast a slur on critics after claiming the ‘dead’ President Muhammadu Buhari is Jibrin Al Sudan ignorantly admitted is a relative of Mrs. Amina Zakari of Independent and National Electoral Commission.
Zakari appointed on Thursday as Chairperson of the INEC Advisory Committee and Presidential Election Collation Centre Committee was roundly rejected by Peoples Democratic Party and some Nigerians for being a niece to Buhari.
Keyamo tweeted on Friday “Mrs. Amina Zakari of INEC is a lady from a town in Sudan & is related to Jibrin Al Sudan who is the body-double of PMB. She arrived on the same flight with Jibrin Al Sudan and was smuggled to INEC the next day. Or, how else can we connect a woman from Jigawa to a man from Sudan?”
On October 17, 2018, Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) claimed Buhari had died and was replaced by Jibrin Al Sudan as the president. Other Nigerians later joined in making the claim.
As soon as the announcement was made, Peoples Democratic Party rejected the appointment of Zakari as the Chairperson of INEC Advisory Committee and Presidential Election Collation Centre Committee.
A statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, Director, Media & Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation complained to Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC Chairman that Zakari is a niece of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Also, Femi Fani-Kayode, who had claimed that Buhari died, tweeted “Amina Zakari, Buhari’s niece and a member of his staff when he was Chairman of PTF has been appointed Chairperson of the INEC Advisory Committee & Pres. Election Collation Center Committee. Do you still believe that there will be a free and fair election in Nigeria on Feb. 16th?”
Though Prof. Yakubu had explained that Zakari comes from Jigawa State while Buhari hails from Katsina State, Buhari has admitted of an inter-marriage relationship with Amina Zakari.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization, PPCO, said the admittance has vindicated its stance that she cannot be trusted with the collation of the 2019 Presidential election results.
The campaign council also tasked President Buhari to respond to criticisms about two years ago by Second Republic lawmaker, Junaid Mohammed that he (President Buhari) pushed for the appointment of Amina Zakari to represent his interest at the commission.
In a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, PPCO’s Director of Media and Publicity, the PDP urged the President to speak more on his relationship with the former Director of Operation at INEC.
The statement read in part: “It is now clear that in addition to the relationship by affinity, President Buhari also has a consanguinity relationship with Amina Zakari and has not denied that he started his early childhood in Zakari’s father’s house.”
“President Buhari’s admittance has effectively established that the PDP has not been crying wolf on the impropriety of involving Mrs. Zakari in the collation of Presidential election results, let alone being appointed to head the final determination of the Presidential election.
“It is totally unethical and immoral for an umpire to insist on officiating a contest even when her impartiality is called to question. Even in the judiciary, judges recuse themselves in cases involving parties they have affinity with. Mrs. Amina Zakari must therefore, recuse herself, if the 2019 presidential election must be credible.”
