The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of his Special Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, as national commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as “provocative “assault on the country’s constitution and democratic process.
Spokesperson for the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, at a press briefing, yesterday, in Abuja noted that the nomination of Onochie, who he alleged was a card carrying member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, was in violation of paragraph 14 of the 3rd schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which forbids a person involved in partisan politics to hold office as a INEC member.
He vowed that the party would deploy every legitimate means in a democracy to stop the approval of Onochie as INEC commissioner.
“Indeed, from Mr. President’s public promises, one would have thought that he was desirous of leaving a legacy of credible elections, having failed in all ramifications of governance. However, this nomination of his personal staff, Lauretta Onchie, as INEC national commissioner, supports the position of the PDP that his statements were mere glib talks on electoral sanctity and clearly demonstrates that he has no plans whatsoever to leave a legacy of credible polls.
“This ugly development is another shameful attempt to plant unscrupulous elements in INEC in order to corrupt and further desecrate the sanctity of the commission, undermine our electoral system and destabilise our democratic process ahead of the 2023 general elections. We had hoped that, as Mr. President had professed in the past, he is truly running his second and final term in office. If that were so, then Lauretta Onochie’s nomination as INEC national commissioner clearly points to a totally different direction. The only way to prove otherwise is to quickly withdraw Onochie’s nomination before the Senate,” he said.
