The Senate, on Tuesday, declared President Muhammadu Buhari’s Personal Assistant on Social Media, Ms Lauretta Onochie ineligible for the position of N
The Senate, on Tuesday, declared President Muhammadu Buhari’s Personal Assistant on Social Media, Ms Lauretta Onochie ineligible for the position of National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Reading his report, Chairman Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabiru Gaya said Onochie’s nomination was in breach of the principle of Federal Character Commission, enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.
Gaya recalled that Delta State which she was supposed to represent has been adequately represented by May Agbamuche-Mbu, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Legal Services who incidentally is from Delta State as Lauretta Onochie.
The Senate also stood down the approval of Professor Sani Mohammed Adam till further legislative action.
Onochie’s nomination was faced with heavy criticism with many civil society groups accusing her of partisan politics and being a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, Onochie, during her screening by the Senate Committee last Thursday, denied the claims that she was a member of the ruling APC, saying she resigned her membership of the party in 2019 after Buhari won the election.
Similarly, a former Chairman of the INEC, Prof Attahiru Jega, advised President Buhari against the appointment of Onochie as a Commissioner of the electoral body.
Speaking as a guest on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Jega argued that the controversy surrounding Onochie’s nomination is not good for the integrity of elections she may oversee if she is confirmed.
