Senator Dino Melaye has celebrated the rejection of an aide to the president Lauretta Onochie as a national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Chairman of the Senate committee on INEC Kabiru Gaya had said in his report on Tuesday that Mrs Onochie did not satisfy the provisions of the federal character principles as there is already a serving national electoral commissioner from Delta State Mary Agbamuche-Mbu who was screened and confirmed by the eighth Senate.
Gaya (APC, Kano South) disclosed that the petitions against Onochie were against the backdrop of her involvement in politics and alleged membership of a political party.
The Senate at the committee of the whole subsequently voted against her nomination.
Reacting to the resolution, Melaye who is a former Kogi West lawmaker and member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said in an Instagram post, “Lauretta Onochie is out. Character is everything.”
Onochie’s nomination had raised dust among the opposition and political observers. INEC commissioners are required by law to be non-partisan.
During her appearance at the Senate last week, Onochie said she stopped being a member of the All Progressives Congress after the 2019 elections. However, she had sworn to be an APC member in a court affidavit.
