Why Onochie should reject INEC job – Action Alliance

The National Leadership of Action Alliance (AA), one of the 18 registered political parties, has urged Mrs. Lauretta Onochie, the Special Assistant on social media to President Muhammadu Buhari, to reject her nomination as a national commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The National Chairman of the AA, Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje, who said this at the end of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, said if Onochie is given the INEC job, she may not be fair and just.

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“Being in one political party before is not a crime for wanting to work in another office. You may be asking that she was a member of a political party and now she wants to be an umpire. How can she be fair? That is the moral aspect of it. No legal backing to say that she should not be appointed because she is a politician and cannot serve in INEC or any other position.”

“But on the grounds of moral justification, if they ask her the question as a former member of a political party, how can you be fair to all?  That is the burden the woman will carry for a long time if appointed,” Omo-Aje said.

On the insecurity bedeviling the nation, the AA boss expressed displeasure that the efforts of the Federal Government at tackling the menace is not yielding convincing results.

He said, “Although the current administration wants us to believe that they are working tirelessly to provide security for lives and properties of citizens, their purported efforts are not yielding convincing results that could call for celebration. The situation has become so bad that no one is safe whether on the road or at home.

“There is palpable fear that if the status quo remains, banditry will spread to other parts of the country. For us at Action Alliance, we reiterate that the most important duty of the government is to secure lives and properties. We believe that rocket science is not required before the current administration can find a solution to the security challenges facing the country”.

INEC to take over local govt polls

He also commended INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu for the electoral reform initiated so far, adding that the e-nomination regime is an innovation that has removed every form of conflict and contestation regarding submission of candidates by political parties.

He, however, urged INEC to take over the conduct of local government elections in the country.

He said that the situation has become so embarrassing that opposition parties have develop lethargy towards participating in local elections due to the malpractices witnessed by the ruling parties in the states.