Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, yesterday condemned Lauretta Onochie’s nomination as a commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), calling it a dangerous portent for the country’s democracy. Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, yesterday condemned Lauretta Onochie’s nomination as a commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), calling it a dangerous portent for the country’s democracy.
He claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly, which is controlled by the All Progressives Congress (APC), were frantic to impose Onochie as INEC national commissioner on Nigerians.
His words: “By any standards, the most fundamental consideration against the appointment of an electoral umpire in a democracy is the likelihood of bias, which in this case, heavily weighed against Onochie, as a partisan member of APC.
“Despite the protests against her nomination and the general lack of trust in her capacity to remain impartial, it seems the APC-led Senate is determined to confirm her appointment, as part of their design to rig the 2023 general elections ahead of time.
“They know Nigerians will overwhelmingly reject them in a free, fair and transparent election managed by a truly independent election management committee.”
As a governor and concerned Nigerian who loves his country and wants its democracy to survive, he urged President Muhammadu Buhari to withdraw Onochie’s candidacy in order to avert further damage to INEC’s reputation and restore trust in the electoral process.
“Where the President lacks the courage to so do, the National Assembly, which is responsible for defending the nation’s democracy should wake up on the right side of history by rejecting her nomination. A related issue is the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act before the National Assembly today,” he added.
