Senators are not about to back pedal in their opposition to the nomination of the President’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, as a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), The Nation gathered last night.
Senators from the All-Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are understood to have joined forces to stop the nomination of Onochie.
Some senators have also received video clips of interviews granted by Onochie from some interest groups to back up their opposition to her nomination.
Lobbyists are having a tough time trying to convince the lawmakers to accept Onochie’s nomination for the South-South slot.
In deference to the President, senators have made an informal representation to some principal officers to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to present a new candidate from the South-South.
But some governors have stepped in to save Onochie who they claimed has been doing only media job.
Buhari had on October 13 nominated Onochie and three others as INEC commissioners – Prof. Muhammad Sani Kallah (National, from Katsina State); Prof. Kunle Cornelius Ajayi (Ekiti) and Saidu Babura Ahmad (Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC (Jigawa).
The letter said: “Pursuant to Paragraph 14 of Part I (F) of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, I hereby forward for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of the following four Commissioners for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
The President’s letter however generated tension in the Senate with some PDP senators leading the opposition to Onochie.
According to investigation, the tension generated by the nomination of Onochie informed the “delay in referral or committal to the appropriate committee in the next legislative day after Buhari’s letter was read.”
It was learnt that some APC and PDP Senators met in Abuja on why Onochie’s nomination would not fly.
A ranking Senator in APC confirmed that some of his colleagues had been meeting informally on Onochie’s appointment.
