Former Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Dr Sikiru Lawal, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari against representing his Special Assistant, Ms Lauretta Onochie to the Senate as a Commissioner in the Independent National Electoral Commission, saying doing so would be insulting to Nigerians.
Lawal in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti, on Thursday, commended the Senator Ahmed Lawan-led Senate for the outright rejection of the nomination.
He said the rejection of the Special Assistant to the President, would sanitise the polity and uphold the integrity of INEC as a true and unbiased electoral umpire.
The former deputy to governor Segun Oni opined that the rejection of Onochie was in order as according to him was in line with extant law guiding the operations of INEC.
Lawal, who is aspiring to the governorship slot of the state in 2022 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, claimed that the approval of Onochie would ridicule INEC and fortify rigging in forthcoming elections.
Lawal insisted that “there was no way Onochie could be neutral and upright in the supervision of national elections
Lawal opined that it was only a credible election that could guarantee peace in the country.”
Also, the State Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party in Ekiti, Hon. Raphael Adeyanju described Onochie as the most unfit to be INEC Commissioner.
Adeyanju added that it could have been a monumental disservice to the nation and serious indictment on the country’s corporate integrity if Onochie had been cleared for the INEC top job.
“The presentation of President Buhari’s aide as INEC commissioner was very insulting. INEC was supposed to be headed by apolitical people, but trying to make a chieftain of a party to be part of the Commissioners was a desperate attempt to compromise the system.
“This is not about PDP or APC, but about Nigerians who are desirous of good electoral system. A system that ensures that the people’s votes count. A system that ensures that the people are the real deciders of who become the leaders, that is what Nigerians wanted,” he said.
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