Lauretta Onochie: PDP, Falana reject Buhari's aide as INEC commissioner

- More controversy is still trailing the nomination of Lauretta Onochie for INEC top job

- The selection and nomination of the controversial Delta-born presidential aide has been rejected

- Both PDP and human rights lawyer Femi Falana posited that Onochie's nomination cannot hold because she is a member of APC

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Controversy has continued to trail the nomination of Lauretta Onochie as commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, October 13, nominated Onochie, his special assistant on social media, from Delta state for the INEC job.

The president also nominated Professor Mohammed Sani (Katsina) Professor Kunle Ajayi (Ekiti) and Seidu Ahmed (Jigawa state) for the electoral commission's top position.

But it was Onochie's nomination that courted controversy having projected herself as a partisan media aide to the president.

In a swift reaction, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the development as "provocative, ominous and an attack on the constitution and democratic practices."

Speaking through its national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the opposition party said it rejected the nomination of Onochie who is described as a "card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Meanwhile, senior human rights lawyer Femi Falana has faulted the appointment of Onochie, saying the presidential aide has "consistently attacked members of other political parties."

Part of the statement read:

"It is crystal clear that a card-carrying member of a registered political party or a well-known supporter of a particular political party is constitutionally disqualified from the membership of the Independent National Electoral Commission."

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Meanwhile, reactions have trailed President Buhari's nomination of his special assistant on social media as INEC national commissioner.

Some Nigerians took to Twitter to express their views on the president's nomination. Many have expressed their displeasure at Lauretta's nomination, while others have questioned why the president will forward the name of a strong member of the ruling party.

Those who reacted to the development urged the Senate to reject Lauretta's nomination, saying that is the only way to move Nigeria's nascent democracy ahead.

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Source: Legit.ng