The nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari of Loretta Onochie, his Special Assistant on Social Media, as a Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, has been condemned by the opposition People’s Democratic Party, and Femi Falana, Lagos-based lawyer and social critic.
President Buhari has forwarded the name of Onochie, as one of the names to be screened by the Senate for confirmation as INEC commissioners, a move that Falaa has described as unconstitutional.
“In view of the desire of President Muhammadu Buhari to fill some vacancies in the Independent National Electoral Commission it has become pertinent to draw the attention of the Council of State and the Senate to the following provisions of the Constitution: “In appointing the members of the INEC the President is required to consult with the Council of State pursuant to section 154 (3) of the Constitution; “Paragraph B of Part 1 of the 3rd Schedule to the Constitution provides that the Council of State shall have power to advise the President in the exercise of his powers with respect to (iv) the Independent National Electoral Commission including the appointment of the members of the Commission. “Pursuant to section 154 (1) of the Constitution, the appointment of the members of the Independent National Electoral Commission shall be subject to confirmation by the Senate
“Paragraph 14 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution as amended by Section 30, Act No 1 of 2010, a member of the INEC “shall be non-partisan.”
On its part, PDP has described the nomination as a highly provocative assault on the country’s constitution and democratic process. The party’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan said at a press briefing on Tuesday that “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.”
Ologboondiyan added that “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.”
For Falana, “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 INEC.
“As an unrepentant member of the ruling party Mrs. Loretta Onochie has consistently attacked members of other political parties. To that extent, she is partisan and therefore not qualified to be a member of INEC,” Falana concluded in a statement.
The PDP spokesman added that the “ugly development” was 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 destabilize 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. “Indeed, her nomination dresses up Mr President as having more than an interest in legacy building and portrays him as one who has a personal candidature interest in the 2023 election. The only way to prove otherwise is to quickly withdraw Onochie’s nomination before the Senate.
“Moreover, being a card-carrying member of the APC as records show (from Ward 5 Onicha Olona, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta state), Onochie’s nomination is in clear 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 member of INEC.
“It is therefore surprising that having sworn to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr President is taking actions that are antithetical to the very constitution and democratic governance.
“These actions are deliberate attempts by President Buhari to inflame social tensions, undermine our constitution and desecrate the sanctity of our electoral process, rather than finding solutions to the myriads of problems pervading our country.
“On a final note, the PDP, standing shoulder to shoulder with Nigerians, will deploy every legitimate means possible in a democracy to stop the approval of this provocative nomination of Lauretta Onochie as INEC national commissioner,” he added.
