Anger Rises Over Onochie’s INEC Nomination; Civil Society Groups Petition NASS

By Akinwale Kasali

For several months, the objection by many segments of the society, including Political Parties, stalled the screening of Lauretta Onochie, a Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari as a Commissioner on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Nigerians were stunned when  Buhari nominated Onochie, described by not a few people as a foul-mouthed rabid Buhari supporter. Onochie is also a card carrying member of the ruling party at the center, All Progressives Congress, APC.

But eight months down the line, Buhari resubmitted Onochie’s name to the Senate for screening. The result is the rising anger from many Nigerians, especially, the Civil Rights Community.

Following her  by Buhari, recommendation,  Civil Society Groups have written a petition to the National Assembly opposing Onochie as an INEC National Commissioner.

It would be recalled that on Tuesday October 13, 2020, President Buhari had sent a letter to the National Assembly requesting the confirmation of three nominees as INEC National Commissioners and one Resident Electoral Commissioner which was read on the floor of the Senate during plenary.

The Civil Societies which petitioned the National Assembly include; Yiaga Africa, Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa, PAACA, International Press Centre, IPC, Institute for Media and Society, IMS, The Albino Foundation, Centre for Citizens with Disability, CCD, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, NWTF, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, PTCIJ, Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, and CLEEN Foundation.

Onochie who hails from Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta State is among the nominees awaiting confirmation by the Senate.

She was nominated as National Commissioner of INEC to represent the South-South region.

However, On Wednesday, 9th June 2021, eight months after her nomination, the Senate referred Onochie’s name to its Committee on INEC to commence her screening as a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. This has generated controversy and a rejection from different quarters.

The groups based their petitions on whether the President consulted with the Council of State before submitting to the Senate a letter nominating Onochie as INEC’s National Commissioner, as stated in Section 154(3), 156(1a), Third Schedule, Item F Paragraph 14(2a) and 14(3b) of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended), as a confirmation by the Senate without the input of the State Council is unconstitutional.

The petition also added that Section 156(1) (a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria clearly prohibits the appointment of any person who is a member of a political party as a member of INEC.

The petition reads in part: “To further ensure the neutrality of the members of INEC, the Constitution clearly mandates in the Third Schedule, Part 1, Item F, paragraph 14 (1) that a National Commissioner shall be non-partisan and a person of unquestionable integrity which Mrs. Lauretta Onochie is found wanting in this category.

“However, until this moment, Mrs. Lauretta Onochie is not only a card-carrying member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), and a Special Assistant to President Buhari on Social Media, but she is also notorious for her partisan, biased, and in some instances inflammatory comments on National issues targeted at perceived or imagined enemies of the Buhari Government.”

The  petition made it known that Onochie has been identified by some Media houses as one of the Nigerian politicians who used fake news as campaign strategies online.

The groups also stated that “While the social media space is still littered with many other inexcusable tweets and posts by Mrs. Onochie, it will be innocuous to state that the nomination of an individual as INEC’s National Commissioner who as in the instant case has habitually demonstrated unabashed partisanship should be outrightly refused and rejected by the Senate. Doing otherwise is a violation of our constitution and the impartiality of our electoral umpire”.

You would recall that former Vice President, and the People’s Democratic Party’s, PDP, Presidential candidate in the 2019 Presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, sued Onochie to the tune of five billion Naira for alleged libel and defamation of character. The case is still in Court.