As Pressure mounts on Senate to reject the nomination of Lauretta Onochie, an aide of President Muhammadu Buhari, as a commissioner in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a coalition of Civil Society Organisations CSOs, as well as an election observer group have accused her of lying under oath.
Lauretta was nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari as a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and her nomination is awaiting Senate confirmation.
Addressing journalists at the weekend in Abuja, Chairman, Steering Committee of the Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), Dr Chima Amadi, said Mrs Lauretta lied on oath when she claimed that she is no longer into partisan politics during her screening at the Senate Committee on INEC.
Against this background, he called for her arrest, saying such action should not be without consequences, while also calling on President Buhari to withdraw her nomination immediately.
Amadi pointed out that INEC is too critical to be subjected to such partisan nomination, adding that the footprints of Lauretta’s partisanship are all over the digital space and her nomination brings credibility issues to the Commission.
He said: “Her partisan footprints are all over the digital space which even makes it curious that she was in the first place considered for nomination.”
Also speaking, National Coordinator of Youths for Good Governance (YGG), Salisu Ahmed, said Mrs Lauretta also lied when she claimed that the present National Commissioner from the South-South, Barrister May Agbamuche-Mbu, was nominated to represent Cross River State and not Delta State.
According to him, checks at the National Assembly and INEC revealed that Agbamuche-Mbu was nominated by President Buhari in 2016 for appointment in INEC from Delta State.
He said: “Her curriculum vitae submitted to the Senate by the President clearly indicates that she is from Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State. Although born in Kano and married to a husband from Cross River State, she has maintained Delta as her State of origin and was indeed nominated, screened, confirmed and sworn-in to represent Delta State in INEC.
“The unanimous report of the Abubakar Kyari-led Committee on INEC which screened the nominees in October 2016 was signed by Kyari and nine Senators. They are Sola Adeyeye (Vice-Chairman), James Manager, Gilbert Nnaji, Hope Uzodinma, Abdullahi Gumel, Ali Wakili, Shehu Sani, Ovie Omo-Agege and Mao Ohuabunwa.
“In fact, two Senators from Delta State, James Manager and Ovie Omo-Agege, who are still serving Senators, endorsed Mrs Agbamuche-Mbu’s nomination as their daughter and nominee for Delta State.
“The report is in the record of the Senate. Therefore no one should mislead the Kabiru-Gaya Committee to endorse the nomination of two Commissioners to represent one State out of the six States from the South-South zone.”
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