President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, and five other nominations for INEC commissioners were screened by the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday.
This is coming eight months after President Buhari sent the list of the nominees to the Senate for screening.
Other names on the list are Prof. Kunle Ajayi (Ekiti), Saidu Ahmad (Jigawa), Prof. Muhammad Kallah (Katsina), Dr Baba Bila (North-East) and Prof Sani Adam (North- Central).
Recall that Onochie’s previous nomination was turned down on Oct. 12, 2020, by the Senate, following an outcry by some senators on her nomination.
Presenting an executive communication from Buhari, seeking the confirmation of the nominees at plenary on Wednesday, leader of the Senate, Sen.Yahaya Abdullahi (APC Kebbi -North) said: “That the Senate do consider the request of Mr President on the confirmation of the nomination of the following persons for appointment as commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in accordance with paragraph 14 part I(F) of the third schedule to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
“The nominees are: Prof. Muhammad Sani Kallah (Commissioner Katsina); Lauretta Onochie (Commissioner Delta), Prof. Kunle Cornelius Ajayi (Commissioner Ekiti); Saidu Babura Ahmad (Commissioner Jigawa); Prof. Sani Muhammad Adam (Commissioner North- Central) and Dr Baba Bila (Commissioner North- East).”
However, Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP-Abia) and minority leader, when asked to second the motion by the Senate leader, said Lauretta Onochie as a nominee had been rejected by the Senate earlier.
Senate president, Ahmad Lawan in his remark, however, referred the nominations to the Committee on INEC for further legislative inputs and to report back in two weeks.
