By BASHIR ADEFAKA
Report of investigations by The DEFENDER has revealed that the names and signature found on the purported register of Ward 4, Aniocha Local Government, Delta State Chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are not of Lauretta Onochie, President Muhammdu Buhari’s Digital and Social Media Aide.
The nominee, who was despite the opposition screened last week, told the Kabiru Gaya-led INEC Senate Committee that those who are against her nomination are doing so because of her insistence on due process.
What we found on the register are ‘Onochei Lauretta’ and an allegedly forged signature as against Lauretta Onochie’s signature.
This was as further probe into the list showed that if there was any ward 4 register to reflect those who are first on the line of membership, then Lauretta could not have been one of first 50 talk less that she will be number two because, according to our findings, she was not in Nigeria but in London, United Kingdom, when the APC started in the area and when the registration started in 2013 or thereabout.
It will be recalled that an online newspaper (not The DEFENDER) had last week reported that a list of members on purported APC register in Ward 4, Aniocha Local Government, Delta State Chapter – which it sighted – showed that the President’s Aide is a card carrying member of the party.
In our preliminary investigation, however, we gathered that it was not possible that a well read person like the body language expert would not know how to write and arrange her names correctly.
Among lawyers, Nigerian women and other citizens, who have protested either by writing or physical presence at the Senate, were those that said whatever had been said about her alleged membership of APC and others was merely to run her down to discredit the President.
They therefore staged the protests demanding that the Senate leadership and INEC Committee disregard the allegations seeking to block the screening and confirmation of Lauretta Onochie as National Commissioner of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The women particularly vowed to resist any such attempt to frustrate or block her confirmation.
In a telephone interview, Dr. Ikechukwu Odikpo, whose name appears as number one on the purported APC Ward 4 list, said as far as he could remember, the register being reported is doctored, adding that by the time the last registered as APC members, Lauretta Onochie was not in Nigeria but in London, United Kingdom.
“The register on which I am listed as number one, from my own understanding as my memory can recap, is not register of APC Ward 4, Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta State. By the time we registered, Lauretta was not even in the country but was in London when we started APC. So, that register that is being flown around, it is either somebody tried to copy from the original or something but definitely not the register that we did.
“Although in our ward, I was the foremost person in APC, in as much as Lauretta is sympathetic to the APC being appointee of the President and she is more appropriately called Buharist, she has never carried APC card for one day. She had been sympathetic and supportive until after the 2019 election when she withdrew all her support for the APC and fully committed herself to her principal, President Muhammadu Buhari.
“And when we were doing revalidation, which was an opportunity for her and they said. “revalidate and register”, she would have become a registered member but she did not. In fact, she believes that politicians are corrupt and she would jokes and says, “APC wins election not because of APC but because of Buhari,” and I would tell her, ‘Without APC, Buhari cannot win’ and we joked about it.”
These were the submission Dr. Ikechukwu Odikpo, whose name was listed as number one followed by the Lauretta’s name on the purported APC Ward 4, Aniocha Local Government, Delta State register.
Find the purported APC Ward 4 Aniocha LG Delta Register below:
