The immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the nomination of Lauretta Onochie, a Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari and also a member of the ruling party of the All Progressives Party Congress (APC) as a INEC National commissioner.
Professor Jega while reacting to questions surrounding the nomination of Lauretta Onochie, asked the Nigerian Senate not to confirm her nomination as INEC national commissioner, as being requested by the President.
Jega also said the President could withdraw Onochie’s nomination and replace her with another female from her state, noting that there are many other eligible women for the job.
The former INEC boss had said this while featuring on Sunday Politics, a current affairs programme on Channels Television, on Sunday night.
Onochie had on Thursday during her screening by the Senate Committee on INEC, denied being a member of the All Progressives Congress since 2019.
But Jega said, “This kind of controversy is really avoidable. Any person who generated such a controversy; the appointing authorities should be careful because you don’t want to appoint anybody that can raise suspicions or doubts or can lead to a loss of trust of the electoral management body.
Lauretta Onochie who have been screened by the Senate, against the wishes of Nigerians, is likely to be confirmed as INEC national commissioner, when the Senate releases its screening result next Tuesday.
Onochie’s name has sparked controversy from human rights groups, lawmakers from the opposition and even some members of the ruling APC.
Groups have argued that Lauretta Onochie’s partisanship are all over the digital space and her nomination brings credibility issues to the Commission.
Some argue that she is too biased and therefore should not be a commissioner in government institutions such as the electoral commission.
Despite being urged to withdraw her nomination, as the INEC job is too critical to be subjected to such partisan nomination, President Buhari and the Senate President who ought to know better, have gone ahead with their plans.
Nigerians are waiting to see the final decision of the Senate on this. But given the rubber-stamp nature of the Nigerian Senate, there is little hope that they will go against the wishes of the President.