APC: Lauretta Onochie Falls Out Of Favour, Suspended

By Adesina Soyooye

The very fiery Lauretta Onochie, Chairman of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has fallen out of favour with the Executive Members of his Party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, in her Ward.

Her Ward accused her of anti-party activities, and has, therefore, suspended her.

The main accusation against her, among others, which earned her the suspension, is that she worked for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, against her own Party during  the General elections in her home State, Delta.

The APC lost in Delta in both the Presidential and Governorship elections in the State.

Onochie, said to be quite close to President Muhammadu Buhari and is his die-hard loyalist, was accused of working for PDP’s Atiku Abubakar and Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, who is Atiku’s running mate, during the Presidential Election, and for Okowa’s candidate during the Governorship election.

While not a few people doubt the allegations against her, the APC executives in her Onicha-Olona Ward 4 of Delta State, think otherwise.

In the suspension letter which was  addressed to the  Delta State Chairman of the APC,  Onochie’s Ward Executives insisted they  investigated her and found out that she worked in the interest of the PDP during the General Elections against the APC.

Her suspension letter was signed by 27 members of her Ward Executive members in Aniocha North Local Government Area, including the Chairman, Ogbolu Peter Nduka, Vice Chairman, Osemeke Mokwunye and Secretary, Justina Amagor Akaeze.

The letter dated March 20, which stated that Onochie’s suspension is with immediate effect reads in part:

“We have painstakingly reviewed the conduct of the just concluded general elections at all levels and have noted, with dismay, that Lauretta Onochie, who is one of the leaders of our great party, worked against the success of the party in Onicha-Olona Ward 4, and beyond.

“Information available to us show very clearly that she was openly campigning for the Candidates of opposition Parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party, in the run-up to the Presidential and National Assembly, as well as the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Election. It was also observed that all her allies and supporters were working for the PDP in the state.

“The evidence of this could be seen in the fact that the party lost in her polling unit (Unit 8, Ward 4) in the Presidential, Senatorial, House of Representatives, Governorship and State Assembly Elections.

“We also note that she has failed to fulfill her financial obligations to the party and has never attended any Ward and LGA meetings or other party engagements.

“In the light of the grievous infractions discovered in her as stated in Article 21,2 (I) (II), we have lost confidence in her membership of the party and hereby suspend her from the party with immediate effect.”

Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, lost in the Governorship election to Sheriff Oborevwori, incumbent Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party beat Bola Tinubu of the APC, now the President-elect, in the Presidential election of 25th February, 2023.

But many people have doubts that Onochie was engaged in anti-party activities. Said a source: “She is too much of a Buharist to do that. What has she to gain by supporting the PDP against the APC when she already occupies a plum office given to her by a PDP Federal Government?”

Before her appointment to the Chair of the NDDC, Onochie was Buhari’s Special Adviser on New Media. While in that position, Buhari nominated her as a National Commissioner to the Board of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The Senate did not approve of her because of her roles in both the APC and the Presidency. Buhari compensated her by offering her the NDDC job.

For the records, Onochie is still in Court with Atiku who sued her for alleged libel and defamation of character.

Said another source: “She must have fallen out of favour with her Ward Executives, perhaps, for not funding the Ward and taking care of members the way they expected, given her plum job which everybody sees as Politicians’ ATM.”

Onochie was yet to react to her suspension at the time of filing this report.