By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed his aide on social media, Lauretta Onochie, a national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) representing Delta State.
Onochie is a staunch supporter of Buhari who has been found to even peddle fake news in the defence of the President.
During the political campaigns for the 2019 election, Onochie circulated doctored photographs claiming that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, shared food items to attendees at his rally with a N1,000 for each of them.
TheNiche, in collaboration with Cross Check Nigeria, a coalition of fact checkers during the 2019 election, busted the claim of Onochie.
For many Nigerians, with the appointment of Onochie as a national commissioner for INEC, a position that requires one to be an unbiased umpire, the 2023 election is already compromised.
@Blaknosa said: ” When you think you have seen it all, @MBuhari just promoted lauretta onochie to a commissioner of INEC. We can’t allow that to happen.”
@OlayinkaLere said: “Should the nomination of Lauretta Onochie as INEC National Commissioner be confirmed by the Senate, we should all forget about future elections in this country.”
@xris946 protested to the Senate Minority Leader against the confirmation of her appointment. He said: ” @SenatorAbaribe Sir, we’ve just heard that Laureta Onochie has been nominated by PMB for the post of INEC commissioner, Delta State. Honourable it’ll will be a slight on the Nigerian youths if you people allow this to sail through. Thank you, sir.”