By Uche Mbah
Since Amina Zachary, Buhari’s niece that was recently removed from her vantage position as the independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Director of Operations, the professional lobbyists in this administration have set to work to see that she is returned back to her former position. Amina has recently been moved to Medicals as their new Director as a result of pressures on the government to remove her because of her filial relationship with President Buhari.
In the wake of the rerun elections in Osun, it was alleged that she was instrumental to the pyrrhic victory of the All Progressives Congress Candidate, Gboyega oyetola, in the governorship rerun election. The Magazine was told that after the first election that was won by the Peoples democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Ademola Adeleke, at the heat of announcement of the result, the resident electoral Commissioner received a call from an unknown source, after which he ordered a rerun where it has previously canceled the results. Indications were that the call came from the office of the Director of Operations, who were believed to have taken orders from Zachary. It was then that Kayode Fayemi was detailed to leave President Buhari in the US and rush back home to help Osun repeat the Ekiti feat.
Thereafter, just before the PDP went for their convention, the senate President, Bukola Saraki, led other PDP big wigs in a demonstration to INEC office, accusing Amina of complicity in the rigging of the rerun election . The Police, however, dispersed them under controversial circumstances. They were asking for the resignation of Amina Zachary from office as they alleged she is already compromised due to filial corruption, and that there will be no guarantee of free and fair election as long as she is the Director of Operations in the Commission. INEC Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu, appeared to have resisted the pressures, but the Senate, on resumption of plenary, were said to have pegged the approval of INEC budget on the sacking of Zachary. When she was redeployed, they immediately passed the budget for INEC.
The INEC commissioner in Osun, Oyo and Ogun states, Adedeji soyebi, was later to be transfered to the Electoral Institute.
The lobby to bring Amina back was based on the permutation that she may come in handy in defense of the victory of her uncle during the 2019 elections. Already, the ruling party is said to have become jittery since the duo of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi emerged as the candidates of PDP-more so as their reliable anchor man in the DSS, Lawan Daura, is no longer with the spy agency.
It is not clear whether Yakubu will succumb to the pressures, but the future promises to be interesting.
