The Presidency has finally spoken up concerning the appointment of Amina Zakari as the Chairman of the Collation Centre Committee for the 2019 General Elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Shortly after the appointment, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Oby Ezekwesili condemned her appointment, saying she’s President Muhammadu Buhari‘s niece.

Speaking on the issue, INEC, through its Director, Voter Education, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi said removing Zakari, is a needless controversy as she’s only heading the committee in charge of the welfare of the collation centre and not as head of collation.

In a statement signed by Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the presidency said Zakari and Buhari “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’s statement added.

Read the statement released on Twitter below:

In another mendacious press release, the @OfficialPDPNig has continued their baseless accusations regarding Hajiya Amina Zakari, a commissioner in @inecnigeria, accusing her of partiality and casting doubts about her integrity as an electoral commissioner.

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.

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.

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.

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

By this statement, the PDP is guilty of scoring an own goal and two, of harassing an innocent citizen on the basis of a lie, pure and simple.