Reject Onochie’s Nomination – Concerned Nigerians Tells Lawan

Concerned Nigerians organisation has told Senate President, Ahmed Lawan to reject Laureta Onochie’s appointment.

Gatekeepers News reports that a citizen-led human rights organisation, Concerned Nigerians has urged the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan to reject Laureta Onochie’s appointment as an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) commissioner.

In October 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari wrote to the Senate to confirm the appointment of one of his media aides, Lauretta Onochie, and three others as Commissioners of INEC.

Since this appointment, there has been lots of controversy surrounding Onochie’s appointment by the President as she’s a card bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a supporter, and a political aide of the president.

Concerned Nigerians in a letter signed by its Convener, Deji Adeyanju, and addressed to the Senate President on Monday, warned against the proposed confirmation.

The organisation’s Convener said her confirmation would be a “clear violation of the provisions of the extant Electoral Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”

Adeyanju, therefore, urged the Senate to immediately clear Professor Sani Adams, a Professor of law who is eminently qualified to be a national commissioner and other Nigerians on the list.

The letter read further, “We find it very worrisome that the senate, under your leadership, appears to have made up its mind to confirm Ms. Onochie as an INEC Commissioner. You may note that Paragraph 14 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution as amended by Section 30, Act No 1 of 2010, states that a member of the Independent National Electoral Commission shall be non-partisan.”

“We wish to draw your attention to the fact that elections in Nigeria usually determine, to a large extent, the nation’s fate.”

He advised the senate to be “careful not to set a dangerous precedent with the confirmation of Ms. Onochie, lest a day come when the president of Nigeria may nominate his party chairman as the INEC Chairman.”

“If this your proposed action of confirming Ms. Onochie goes on according to plan, it will make many lose hope in elections and democracy in the country.”

The organisation also urged Lawan not to reverse all the democratic gains of the nation by this action.

The letter concluded, “In the light of the foregoing, we hereby request that you take urgent steps to safeguard the nation’s present and future electoral process, by declining the nomination of Ms. Onochie as an INEC Commissioner.”