Presidency on Friday defended the appointment of Mrs Amina Zakari as head of the collation centre for the general elections by electoral commission, INEC.

The main opposition party, PDP, and a coalition of some opposition parties, CUPP, have criticised the Thursday announcement by INEC that Zakari has been so appointed.

INEC, however, defended Zakari’s appointment on Friday, saying she could not influence the elections.

In a statement by Mr Garba Shehu, President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesperson, on Friday, the presidency said the accusations by PDP against Zakari were “baseless.”

Read the full statement below:

In another mendacious press release, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued their baseless accusations regarding Mrs Amina Zakari, a commissioner in Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accusing her of partiality and casting doubts about her integrity as an electoral commissioner.

In their desperation, they forget that it was 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.

Mr Buhari and 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 PDP is that they, as a ruling party picked 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 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, PDP is guilty of scoring an own goal and two, of harassing an innocent citizen on the basis of a lie, pure and simple.

PT