By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday asked the Senate to ignore the criticism of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the nomination of a presidential aide, Lauretta Onochie, as a commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Onochie, who is his Personal Assistant on Social Media, along with three others – Profesor Mohammed Sani, Professor Kunle Ajayi, and Seidu Ahmed – as National Commissioners of INEC on Tuesday.
Buhari had sent a letter to the Senate seeking the lawmakers’ confirmation of the appointment.
The request which was contained in a letter dated October 12, was read during plenary by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.
But Onochie’s nomination has drawn hostile reactions from Nigerians who insist that it is against the letters and spirit of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The Constitution specifically declares that appointees to the electoral body must be non-partisan and also not card-carrying members 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.”
And Section 14(3b) of the same Schedule states that “there shall be for each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, a Resident Electoral Commissioner who shall be a person of unquestionable integrity and shall not be a member of any political party.”
But the APC pushed back on Friday, when it insisted that “some members and brazen apologists” of the PDP are also commissioners of INEC.
The allegation was contained in a statement by Yekini Nabena, APC deputy spokesman, titled, “APC To Senate: Ignore PDP’s Selective Criticism of Lauretta Onochie’s Appointment As INEC Commissioner.”
The statement read:
“President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of Lauretta Onochie as a National Electoral Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been subject to rash, subjective, misplaced and selective criticism by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some interest groups.
“Perhaps the PDP needs to be reminded that one of its card-carrying members, Dr. Johnson Alalibo, is the current Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).
“Alalibo who was also a former Deputy Whip in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly has been an electoral asset to the PDP but that is an issue to be addressed another day.
“We urge the patriotic 9th Senate to stick with the facts and issues by ignoring the PDP’s grandstanding, cheap blackmail, baseless and subjective allegations of partisanship it is sponsoring against Ms. Onochie. For the PDP, Ms. Onochie’s capacity and effectiveness as a public servant and senior social media professional amounts to partisanship.
“Since public service now equates ‘partisanship’ we invite the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to equally fault appointment of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the current INEC Chairman, who was the immediate-past Executive Secretary of the government’s Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) as well as the earlier stated Dr. Johnson Alalibo.
“We equally invite the PDP to query the ‘unquestionable integrity’ of brazen PDP apologists such as Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC; Mike Igini, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Akwa Ibom State, among others.
“We challenge the PDP to point to any of its defunct 16-year administrations that defended and guaranteed the Executive arm of government’s non-interference in INEC’s operation and the true independence of the electoral commission as President Buhari’s government has done.”
