Senate yet to forward Lauretta Onochie, others’ nomination as INEC National Commissioners to Committee for screening – Senator Gaya

*Says Buhari’s aide nomination not stepped down

By KEMI KASUMU

Over three months that President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination letter, requesting confirmation of four nominees including Lauretta Onochie as National Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commissioners (INEC), was read on the floor of the Senate, it has continued to be kept under the table, allegedly, by Senate President Ahmed Lawan as he is yet to forward the clearly stated names to the Senate Committee on INEC for screening, our findings revealed.

On another occasion, in an exclusive interview with the Sun on Saturday, Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabiru Gaya seemed to have corroborated the findings although he didn’t mention anybody’s name with regard to the reason the nominees are still kept in the cold.

According to Gaya, the insinuation that the nomination of Lauretta Onochie, Digital and Social Media Aide to President, was stepped down is untrue.

The former Governor of Kano State, Senator Gaya, in response to a question on why the Senate stepped down the nomination of the Presidential Aide, Senator Gaya said that the Senate at no time stepped down the nomination.

“Well, let me use this opportunity to clarify that the Senate has not stepped down the nomination of Lauretta as commissioner or as resident electoral commissioner.

“The fact is that the President has forwarded her name to the Senate but it didn’t come to the Senate committee on INEC because once it is read on the floor, the report will be submitted or be referred to the committee on INEC, that’s the following day in the order paper.

“It had not come to the floor of the senate, therefore no decision has been taken about Lauretta, her name did not come to the committee, it is when her name is sent, that is the time we will take the decision.

“So she has never been disqualified or thrown out of the Senate or the committee on INEC,” Senator Kabiru Gaya said.

It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Lauretta Onochie, one of his media aides, as a national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a letter read in the floor of the Senate on Tuesday 13 October 2020.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan read the letter from President Buhari with Onochie from Delta State alongside three other nominees.

Buhari said “Appointment for Commissioners for INEC. Pursuant to paragraph 14 of part 11 of the first schedule of the 1999 constitution.

Others on the list are Prof. Mohammed Sani from Katsina State; Prof. Kunle Ajayi from Ekiti State and Seidu Ahmed from Jigawa.

In the meantime, mouths are wagging over accusation of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who is Deputy Senate President, for allegedly conniving with members of the opposition to influence the screening process so the Senate would drop Onochie, who is currently an appointee of President of the Federal Republic.

Omo-Agege and other lawmakers of the Niger Delta, mainly Peter Nwaoboshi are particularly said to be scared that a no-nonsense Lauretta Onochie in INEC will be counterproductive to their personal ambition to be Governor and deputy Governor, respectively, of Delta State come 2023 and will go to any length to stop her.

Another reason being adduced is that the Niger Delta senators are not happy with the body language expert for doing her job as media aide of the President, which includes her standing resolutely with her boss against those opposed to and frustrating the Forensic Audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The DEFENDER, however, gathered that whatever conspiracy any group of people can make against this Presidential nomination of Lauretta will fail because, the Senate, as an institution of state and arm of government, has its process, which cannot be influenced or manipulated by anyone.