President Buhari to nominate Onochie as INEC Commissioner again

Post created on 10:25 am

The Presidency on Tuesday reaffirmed its confidence in Lauretta Onochie as Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission despite Senate’s rejection of the nomination.

A Presidency source told newsmen , “The fact that President Muhammadu Buhari — who made the nomination — had not chosen to withdraw it shows that he still has faith in the process and Onochie’s candidature is viable. So far, he hasn’t withdrawn his confidence in Onochie.”

Onochie’s nomination attracted public outcry because of her open partisanship and the fact that her appointment would have amounted to a breach of the federal character principle.

The Chairman of the Committee  on the Independent National Electoral Commission, Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano South), had disclosed that the petitions against the Presidential aide were against the backdrop of her involvement in politics and alleged membership of a political party.

Gaya said, “In the case of Ms. Lauretta Onochie, we studied her curriculum vitae and other relevant documents, followed by exhaustive interaction around the petitions against her nomination which she responded to accordingly, including attesting that she is not a registered member of any political party.”

Abba Moro, a PDP Senator from Benue State, has said that the nominee would still have been rejected even if not for the federal character principle.

Moro stated this in a telephone interview with newsmen on Tuesday.

He said the Senate Committee on INEC, gave her a soft landing.

Moro said, “The truth of the matter is that the majority of Nigerians objected to the nomination of Lauretta Onochie, right from when she was presented to the Senate.