Why Zakari Must Continue As Acting Chairman —INEC Explains

Despite the end of her tenure as a National Commissioner at the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mrs. Amina Zakari will not leave the job because of her recent appointment as the acting chairman of the electoral commission, INEC has said.

Zakari is among the National commissioners, whose tenure effectively ended on Tuesday but she nonetheless reported at her duty post as usual showing no signs to pulling out of the top job.

In justifying her continued stay in office, the INEC explained on Tuesday that the letter appointing her as an acting chairman of the commission by President Muhammadu Buhari last month supersedes her exit date as a national commissioner in the agency.

Speaking with newsmen, INEC’s Deputy Director of Publicity, Nick Dazang said that there was no confusion over the position of Zakari in INEC having been named the acting chairman of the commission by the President.

Dazang said that with the appointment Zakari did not need to leave at the end of her tenure as a national chairman but would continue to oversee the affairs of the agency pending the appointment of a substantive chairman by the Federal Government.

Dazang said: “There should be no controversy over the appointment of the Acting Chairman by the President because in Section 153 to 159 of the Nigerian Constitution, the President has the power to appoint the INEC Chairman subject to ratification by the Senate.

“There is a letter by the Head of Service appointing Zakari as the Acting Chairman pending the appointment of a substantive chairman and this is already in the public domain.”