Buhari once again nominates Onochie as INEC commissioner

President Muhammadu Buhari has once again asked the Senate to confirm the appointment of his aide, Lauretta Onochie, as a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Buhari first submitted Onochie's name for confirmation in October 2020, alongside the names of Muhamad Sani, Kunle Cornelius Ajayi, and Seidu Ahmad.

The nomination was met with public outrage as it is required that INEC officials are non-partisan and unaffiliated with political parties; but Onochie is a very visible member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

She has worked as Buhari's aide on social media since 2015, and has cut a very controversial figure with a well-documented history of attacking opposition politicians.

Last year's nomination was not properly processed by the Senate, with reports indication that lawmakers pushed the president to withdraw the nomination to prevent an embarrassing public rejection of his problematic appointment.

However, the president resubmitted Onochie's name, alongside five others, to the Senate in a letter read by Senate Majority Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, during plenary on Wednesday, June 9, 2021.

Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, while seconding a motion to attend to the request, raised an objection to Onochie's inclusion and expressed confusion at her being nominated a second time.

In response, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said the matter will be dealt with by the Senate Committee on INEC which has two weeks to report back after screening the nominees.