Why the Senate nullify Lauretta Onochie’s appointment as INEC commissioner

Following the appointment of Lauretta Onochie as INEC commissioner by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Senate on Tuesday has given the reason why it nullified such an appointment.

The Senate said it nullified it based on her partisanship and breach of federal character principle; in a statement titled, ‘Senate confirms five nominees as INEC Commissioners, rejects Lauretta Onochie’, by Ezrel Tabiowo, Special Assistant (Press) to President of the Senate.

More so, the statement quoted the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano South), as saying they received several petitions against the nomination of Onochie.

Furthermore, he added that nomination violated the Federal Character Principle as there is already a serving National Electoral Commissioner from Delta State, Barr. Mary Agbamuche-Mbu was screened and confirmed by the 8th Senate.

“In the case of Ms Lauretta Onochie’s, having studied her curriculum vitae and other relevant documents, followed by exhaustive interaction around the petitions against her nomination which she responded to accordingly, including attesting that she is not a registered member of any political party”, Gaya said.

“Therefore, based on the provisions of Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended) on Federal Character Principle as earlier stated, and in order for the Committee and the Senate to achieve fairness to other states and political zones in the country, the committee is unable to recommend Ms Lauretta Onochie for confirmation as a National Electoral Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission,” he explained.

However, the Senate confirmed five other nominees followed the consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on INEC.