By John Ikani
Commissioner nominee for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Lauretta Onochie, will know her fate regarding the INEC job on Tuesday.
This was made known to newsmen by a senior official close to the Senate Panel that screened the former aide of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Onochie alongside five others were screened by the Senate last Thursday for the post of INEC commissioner.
The five other nominees are Prof Muhammad Sani Kallah (Katsina), Prof. Kunle Cornelius Ajayi (Ekiti), Saidu Babura Ahmad (Jigawa), Prof. Sani Muhammad Adam (North Central) and Dr. Baba Bila (North East).
“They all will know their fate on Tuesday,” the source told newsmen.
What you should know
Onochie’s nomination had sparked outrage from civil society groups, opposition lawmakers and even within the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Many have argued that she is “too partisan” to be a commissioner in an institution like INEC.
But Buhari has refused to withdraw the appointment of one of his aides despite the pressure.
The latest in a seemingly unending series of opposition to Onochie’s appointment came from Prof Attahiru Jega, a former Chairman of INEC.
Jega who featured on Sunday Politics, a Channels Television programme, spoke on the controversy over Onochie’s nomination.
According to him, “This kind of controversy is really avoidable. Any person who generated such a controversy; the appointing authorities should be careful because you don’t want to appoint anybody that can raise suspicions or doubts or can lead to a loss of trust of the electoral management body.”
He added that the president could withdraw Onochie’s nomination and replace her with another female from her state.
