APC-led Senate rejects President Buhari’s nominee, Lauretta Onochie, as INEC Commissioner, jubilating PDP asked not to rejoice yet

*It’s proof of Buhari’s commitment to separation of powers – Source

*Why Buhari must rise to the situation now – Buharists

*Say legislative action a slap in face of the President

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

The All Progressives Congress-controlled Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in what many have described as a surprising and painful, has rejected the nomination of Lauretta Onochie, Aide and nominee of its Party Leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, as an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) National Commissioner.

The rejection on Tuesday followed the massive outcry initiated by opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but later joined by members of the same party that the President leads against her confirmation.

Excuses given by the PDP working in consonance with some members of the civil society organisations were that her nomination contravene Federal Character Act as, according to them, a Delta State woman is still a National Commissioner of INEC although her tenure expires soon and that she is a card-carrying member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Despite convincing constitutional proofs and examples made available by lawyers, women society and some media comments writers as well as clarifications by the nominee, herself, about how the woman said to be from Delta currently in INEC is there representing Cross River State by marriage and not Delta State and that she is not a card carrying member of the APC, the opposition thickened on Monday with former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, making a damaging comments which saw him as joining the coalition of people who kicked against the appointment.

Jega straightly asked President Buhari to withdraw Onochie’s nomination, although he was said to be aware of the fact that card carrying members of PDP were on the INEC he led until APC sacked the party in 2015 and he did not comment on it.

“This kind of controversy is really avoidable. Any person who generated such a controversy, the appointing authorities should be careful because you don’t want to appoint anybody that can raise suspicions or doubts or can lead to a loss of trust of the electoral management body,” he said on Monday on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

PDP/APC senators and other opponents frustrating Lauretta’s appointment, however, were not known to have spoken about the presence of card carrying members of the PDP who were for the 16 years the the PDP ruled INEC National Commissioners and among who are still there as alleged by groups which backed the nomination and demanded her confirmation.

President Muhammadu Buhari had written to the Senate in October 2020 to confirm the appointment of Lauretta Onochie, who is currently his digital and social media aide and three others as National Commissioners of INEC.

In her introductory remarks during her screening last Thursday, Onochie insisted that she is not partisan.

While noting that she had seen the petitions against her which were not only from the opposition but also from people in the APC, she said it was because she is known to be non-partisan and someone who insists on due process.

Onochie, however, insisted that since President Buhari won his second term, she has removed herself from all things political.

According to her, from 2019 till date she has not had anything to do with any political organisation and did not partake in APC’s recent validation exercise.

Only on Monday, The DEFENDER reported attempts by those opposing her appointment, who went to the extent of forging membership register of APC Ward 4, Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta State to justify their claim of partisanship and how the attempts were exposed.

Dr. Ikechukwu Odikpo, who was the foremost member of APC at its start in 2013 in the ward, told The DEFENDER in a telephone interview that the purported register in circulation was nothing but doctored, adding that Lauretta was not even in Nigeria at the time the register on which she was listed number 2 next to him was created.  He said she was at that time in London, United Kingdom.

In the meantime, The DEFENDER reports that the end of the matter may not have come as Lauretta Onochie’s loyalists, who are also committed Buharists are kicking that the action of the APC-controlled Senate rejecting the newly found Madam Due Process was no more than a slap in the face of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Although an attempt by some of them to blame President Buhari for not have met with senators of his party ahead of the sitting towards the confirmation exercise was said to be avoided as, according to a lawyer and aid in the Presidency, the development was only another proof of the President’s belief in separation of powers, the Buharists, whose sadness over the development has not been hidden, have asked the President re-assure and convince them on why continued commitment to the course of Buharism would not become a curse for them, by immediately rising to the situation.

In the meantime, they have asked PDP and its members, who have jubilated over Tuesday’s Senate rejection of Lauretta Onochie’s nomination as INEC National Commissioner not to rejoice yet as the table may turn against them soonest.