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INEC Clarifies Amina Zakari’s Role, Says She Has Nothing to do with Collation Process

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7 years ago

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has reacted to criticisms over its appointment of Amina Zakari as head of its collation centre for the forthcoming presidential election, saying her role has nothing to do with the process of vote collation.

The director of voter education and publicity at INEC, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, however, said Mrs Zakari’s role as head of the collection center committee has nothing to do with actual collation of votes.

He said only the chairman of INEC, who is the returning officer for presidential election, decides the validity of votes.

Mr Uzzi said this Friday while speaking on Channel Television’s Sunrise Daily.

He said Mrs Zakari was appointed because she was in charge of welfare, and the role of the collation committee is to be in charge of the physical structure of the International Conference Center (ICC).

He said Mrs Zakari was suitable for the position having been involved in negotiating for the use of the centre in 2015.

“The chairman of INEC by virtue of the Electoral Act is the returning officer of the country for the presidential election. It is he who decides the validity of votes and any issues in the election,” he said.

“The committee is primarily in charge of welfare. She was also very involved in negotiating with the ICC management in 2015 for the use of the facility so her duty is to ensure the facility is ready. She has no role whatsoever with the process of collation.”

Following Mrs Zakari’s appointment on Thursday, the opposition Peoples Democratic Patty (PDP) and the Coalition of United Political Party (CUPP) released statements rejecting her appointment and demanding her removal.

Also, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, in a statement on Friday also alleged that Mrs Zakari’s appointment was sealed at a midnight secret meeting at the presidential villa.

He called on the INEC chairman, Yakubu Mahmood, to resign for being part of the alleged meeting.

Mr Uzzi said the controversy was needless.

When asked if INEC was considering removing her, he said, “Removing her as the chairman of the committee to prepare the facility? That’s not an issue. It’s a needless controversy; not an issue at all”.

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Senate Approves Tinubu’s N1.15tr Domestic Loan Request to Fund 2025 Budget Deficit

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20 hours ago

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November 12, 2025

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The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to raise N1.15 trillion from the domestic debt market to cover the unfunded portion of the 2025 budget deficit.

The approval followed the adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt during plenary on Wednesday.

The committee noted that the 2025 Appropriation Act provides for a total expenditure of N59.99 trillion, representing an increase of N5.25 trillion over the N54.74 trillion initially proposed by the Executive.

This expansion created a total budget deficit of N14.10 trillion. Of this, N12.95 trillion had already been approved for borrowing, leaving an unfunded deficit of approximately N1.15 trillion (N1,147,462,863,321).

In a related development, a motion by Senator Abdul Ningi was adopted, directing the Senate Committee on Appropriations to intensify its oversight to ensure that the borrowed funds are properly implemented in the 2025 fiscal year and used strictly for their intended purposes.

President Tinubu had on November 4th requested the approval of the National Assembly for a fresh ₦1.15 trillion borrowing from the domestic debt market to help finance the deficit in the 2025 budget.

The President’s request was conveyed in a letter. According to the letter, the proposed borrowing is intended to bridge the funding gap and ensure full implementation of government programs and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan.

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APC’s Joe Igbokwe Calls for Dismissal of Soldier Who Stood His Ground Against Wike

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1 day ago

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November 12, 2025

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A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Joe Igbokwe, has called for the dismissal of the soldier who resisted the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The soldier had blocked Wike and officials of the FCTA from accessing a portion of land in the FCT.

The officer, claiming he was acting on instructions, told Wike that he would not be allowed into the property. Wike, however, questioned his authority, leading to a heated confrontation and name calling.

Reacting on Facebook, Igbokwe questioned who was behind the military officer in challenging the FCT Minister.

He wrote, “Who is this man in uniform? Of what meat is he fed? Who is beating the drum for him? This is unacceptable? His uniform has to be removed.”

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Senates Rejects NNPCL’s Explanation, Orders Refund of N210trn to Govt

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1 day ago

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November 12, 2025

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The Senate has rejected the explanations provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) regarding the ₦210 trillion outstanding against the oil firm.

It came to the conclusion on Wednesday that the money, which had not been accounted for, must be refunded to the Federation Account by the company.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada, which has been on the probe for months, took the decision on Tuesday after the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, failed to turn up at its resumed sitting at the National Assembly.

The session was called to give the NNPCL the opportunity to make clarifications on the answers the company provided to the 19 questions the panel asked the firm about the ₦210 trillion.

Following a review of the operations of the NNPCL from 2017-2023, the committee sighted the unexplained transaction, totaling ₦103 trillion (accrued expenses) and ₦107 trillion (receivables) in the audited financial statements of the firm, prompting it to raise the queries.

After weeks of back-and-forth between the committee and the NNPCL, the NNPCL eventually responded to the 19 questions.

However, at a resumed session, Senator Wadada frowned at the absence of  Ojulari, whom the committee said gave no reasons for staying away, consequently rejected the explanations.

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada, while speaking on the panel’s findings, said the responses were not only unsatisfactory, but were also contradictory.

“NNPC claimed ₦103 trillion as accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion as receivables -amounting to ₦210 trillion. On question eight, NNPC’s explanation on the ₦107 trillion receivables -equivalent to about $117 billion -contradicts available facts and evidence provided by NNPC itself. The committee is duty-bound to reject this,” he stated.

Wadada further questioned how the firm could pay ₦103 trillion in Cash Calls to Joint Venture (JV) partners in 2023 alone, despite generating only ₦24 trillion in crude revenue between 2017 and 2022.

“Cash Call arrangements were abolished in 2016 under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. How can NNPC claim to have paid ₦103trn in one year, when it only generated ₦24trn in revenue over five years? Where did NNPC get that money?

“As far as this committee is concerned, that figure is unjustifiable and unacceptable. The ₦103 trillion must be returned to the Treasury. This will be concluded when the NNPCL appears before us,” he stated.

The committee said it would have been better for the current management of the NNPCL to admit that it encountered challenges in explaining what happened to the funds than giving contradictory answers to the questions.

“If the present management of NNPCL is finding it difficult to provide acceptable answers, it is better they say so. The committee will not hesitate to subpoena former officials of NNPCL and NAPIMS,” Wadada added.

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