8 months after, Onochie still on nominee list for Senate screening

The Senate is to begin screening of Lauretta Onochie and five others named national commissioners of Independent National Electoral Commission, eight months after they were nominated.

Onochie (Delta), President Muhammadu Buhari’s special assistant on social media, and the other five were nominated in a request to the Senate eight months ago by the presidency.

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The others nominated on October 12 are Muhammad Sani Kallah (Katsina), Kunle Cornelius Ajayi (Ekiti), Saidu Babura Ahmad (Jigawa), Sani Muhammad Adam (north central) and Baba Bila (north east) as national commissioners of the INEC.

Onochie’s nomination sparked controversy.

Opposition senators had said that by nominating Onochie, Buhari had “wilfully gone against the constitution he swore to uphold,” and urged him to withdraw it.

Her name is still on the list to be considered by the Senate committee on INEC

While “reluctantly” seconding the motion that the nominations be referred to the Senate Committee for action, the Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, expressed surprise that Onochie’s name resurfaced again as INEC national commissioner nominee after the widespread opposition against her nomination.

“We shall meet in the Philippines”, Abaribe added.