Lauretta Onochie: Report Says Buhari May Represent Media Aide As INEC Nominee Again

• There are insinuations that President Muhammadu Buhari may re-send Lauretta Onochie's name to the Senate despite her rejection
• Sources say the president still has faith in the process and believes that Onochie’s candidature is viable
• The presidential aide's name may be sent back to the upper chamber in December 2021 based on the excuse given by the Senate for dropping her

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FCT, Abuja - A report by Punch newspaper indicates that despite the Senate’s rejection of the nomination of Lauretta Onochie as commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the presidency on Tuesday, July 13 reaffirmed its confidence in her.

A presidency source quoted in the report said:

“The fact that President Muhammadu Buhari — who made the nomination — had not chosen to withdraw it shows that he still has faith in the process and Onochie’s candidature is viable. So far, he hasn’t withdrawn his confidence in Onochie.”

Read also

Lauretta Onochie: Senate reveals why Buhari's aide was rejected as INEC commissioner

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Another attempt to represent Onochie's name in the offing

According to the report, this may mean that Buhari would still send Onochie's name again to the Senate.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano South), had disclosed that the presidential aide was dropped because she is from the same state as an INEC commissioner from Delta state, Mrs. Agbamuche-Mbu.

Agbamuche-Mbu's tenure at the electoral commission may expire by December this year and there are insinuations that the president will wait till then to send Onochie's name again.

PDP celebrates Onochie's rejection

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the Senate’s rejection of Onochie as the triumph of the Nigerian people over the attempt to corrupt and hijack INEC ahead of the 2023 elections.

Read also

List of 5 INEC commissioners confirmed by Senate emerges as Onochie is rejected

The PDP's stance was noted in its official statement on the issue posted on the party's Facebook page on Tuesday, July 13.

The PDP asserted that the rejection of Onochie by Nigerians has saved the nation from a very serious crisis as well as salvaged INEC and the entire Nigerian electoral process from ruinous pollution.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that Onochie's nomination as INEC commissioner by President Buhari was rejected by the Senate.

The upper legislative chamber explained that Onochie's nomination violated the Principle of Federal Character which is enshrined in the constitution.

Onochie's nomination had drawn widespread outrage as many Nigerians opined that her involvement in partisan politics made her unfit for the job.

Recall that during her screening, Onochie denied being a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to the presidential aide, she stopped being a member of APC in 2019 when President Buhari won his re-election.

Onochie, however, admitted she swore an oath declaring that she was a member of the ruling party in the past.

Source: Legit.ng