The Concerned Nigerians group has asked the Nigerian Senate to reject the nomination of Lauretta Onochie, Senior Special Assistant on Social Media to President Muhammadu Buhari, as National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission representing the South-South.
Stressing that Onochie was a known partisan supporter of President Buhari and his ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, the group in a letter to the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, said the nomination goes contrary to the provisions of the constitution, which prohibits nomination of partisan people for the office.
The letter signed by its Convener, Comrade Deji Adeyanju reads, “We find President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of his Personal Assistant on Social, Lauretta Onochie, as the Independent National Electoral Commission Commissioner from Delta State to be a reprehensible attempt to destroy the integrity and independence of Nigeria’s electoral commission.
“Lauretta Onochie is an openly partisan, card carrying member of the All Progressives Congress, Nigeria’s ruling party, who constantly attacks and denigrates critics of the ruling party. Her appointment is in violation of paragraph 14 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the constitution as amended by Section 30, Act No 1 of 2010, a member of the Independent National Electoral Commission “shall be non-partisan”.
“This constitutional provision prohibits a card-carrying member of a registered political party or a well-known supporter of a particular political party from being appointed as a member of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“Her appointment is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void, and unacceptable to the generality of the Nigerian people. We appeal to you to reject this nomination in the best interest of the Nigerian people, as it is capable of reversing the gains made in our electoral processes. Please be assured of the compliments of our warmest regards.”
