By Taiwo Amodu And Leon
Amidst public uproar trailing President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of his Personal Assistant on Social Media, Ms Lauretta Onochie, as a national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), there are indications that the Senate may confirm her on Tuesday.
The Senate Committee on INEC chaired by a former Kano State governor and Senator representing Kano South, Kabiru Gaya, concluded screening of Onochie and five other nominees on Friday and would lay its report before the Red Chamber on Tuesday.
Those screened last Thursday alongside with Lauretta Onochie who is to represent Delta State included Professor Muhammad Sani Kallah (Katsina); Professor Kunle Cornelius Ajayi (Ekiti); Saidu Babura Ahmad (Jigawa); Professor Sani Muhammad Adam SAN (North Central) and Dr Baba Bila (North East).
A Senator, who is a member of the Senate Committee on INEC, told Sunday Tribune that the accusation that the nominee is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress had been settled with a formal letter from the national secretariat of the ruling party which stated it that she was never a card-carrying member of the ruling party.
The Sunday Tribune source further argued that Onochie clarified the misconception that her confirmation could accord double representation for Delta State in the Commission, which could be a breach of the provisions of the Federal Character Commission enshrined in the constitution.
He said: “In the petitions against her, she was accused of being a member of the APC. “Of course, the constitution specifically declares that appointees to the electoral body must be non-partisan and also not be a card-carrying member of any political party.
“Section 14 (2a) of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) states that “a member of the commission shall be non-partisan and a person of unquestionable integrity. “Note the word “shall”— that is futuristic. What it means is that at no time, whether in the past or present, will a card-carrying member of any political party be eligible to serve in the electoral umpire.
“But the APC wrote to the committee to state that she was never a member of the party.
“She also cleared the doubt on double nominee for Delta State. She told us that, yes, Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, INEC National Commissioner and chairman Legal Services of the commission is from Delta but she married to a citizen from Cross Rivers State and she is representing Cross Rivers, not Delta.”
Investigation by Sunday Tribune revealed that lawmakers from the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are smarting for a showdown as they have vowed to raise their voices against her nomination.
Before the committee screened the nominees, the PDP had written a letter to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, insisting that she should be pronounced ineligible for the position.
The letter dated 30th June 2021 titled, “Rejection of the Nomination of Lauretta Onochie as INEC Commissioner,” the PDP called on the Senate Committee to reject her nomination as it noted that “Mrs Onochie cannot be neutral or independent as she is factually known to be an unrepentant card-carrying member of the APC with an uncountable number of proofs.”
Originally published at Tribune