the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs Amina Zakari’s
appointment is illegal, adding that she is an in-law of President Muhamadu Buhari.
Fayose said in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, the state capital,
on Sunday, that “apart from the danger that President Buhari’s appointment of his in-
law, Mrs Zakari as acting chairperson of INEC, poses to democracy in the country, the
position is unknown to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as
amended).”
Fayose, in the statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New
Media, Lere Olayinka, said all lovers of democracy in the country should “rise in
defence of the impartiality of INEC, which he described as “the only factor that can
sustain democracy.”
According to him, “the most honourable thing for President Buhari to do is to rescind
the unlawful appointment of Mrs Zakari as INEC acting chairperson.”
He said: “Since Mrs Zakari’s tenure as INEC National Electoral Commissioner has
expired, she cannot continue to preside legally on INEC 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 it by ensuring that
the impartiality of the electoral umpire is unblemished by suspicions of partisanship
and illegal appointments.”
Governor Fayose added that “two weeks ago, respected former lawmaker and former
top civil servant, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, revealed that he knew Mrs Zakari since
childhood and that her late father, the former Emir of Kazaure, was married to
President Buhari’s elder sister.
“Alhaji 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 Mrs 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 aspersions on any election
conducted by INEC headed by Mrs Zakari.”
The Ekiti helmsman added in the statement that “Section 153 of the 1999
Constitution (as amended), which established INEC and other federal executive bodies
did not make any provision for the appointment of acting chairman.”
While claiming that the appointment was “illegal,” Governor Fayose said: “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 Mrs Zakari as INEC’s ‘Acting Chairperson.’
“The only requisite condition for Mrs 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 Commissioner, not someone whose tenure has
expired.
“The danger in this is also that any action taken by INEC with Mrs Zakari as its head
will amount to illegality and it is hoped that President Buhari will avoid plunging
Nigeria into an avoidable legal quagmire by rescinding immediately, the illegal
appointment of Mrs Zakari as INEC’s acting chairperson, a position that is not known
to the Constitution of Nigeria.
“Therefore, ignoring facts suggesting that the INEC’s acting chairperson and President
Buhari are in-laws is dangerous to democracy in the country, and lovers of democracy
in the country must rise in defense of the impartiality of INEC now.”
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