Buhari, APC’s Desperation To Foist Onochie As INEC Commissioner Is A Bad Omen To Our Democracy – Wike

A call has been made for the withdrawal of Lauretta Onochie’s name among nominees for appointment as commissioner for Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who made the call condemned and described the move by President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressive Congress, APC to foist Onochie as a bad omen for the country’s democracy.

Wike made the call during the presentation of a six years progress report to mark the second year of his second tenure as governor held at the Obi Wali Internation Conference Center in Port Harcourt on Monday, Naija News reports.

He said: “For goodness sake, the nomination and desperation of President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled National Assembly to foist an invalid MMsLauretta Onochie on Nigerians as INEC’s national Commissioner is a bad omen for our democracy.

“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, is heavily weighted against Ms Onochie, as a notorious and repulsively partisan dye-in-the-wool member of the APC.

Wike observed that despite the flood of protests against Onochie’s nomination and the general lack of trust in her capacity to remain impartial, the heaAPC-led Senate is determined to confirm her appointment as part of their grand design to rig the 2023 general elections well ahead of time.

He added: “Knowing Nigerians would overwhelmingly reject them in a free, fair and transparent contest managed by a strong and independent election management committee.

“As a Governor and concerned Nigerian who loves this country so much and wants our democracy to survive, I wish to appeal to MMrPresident to, for the sake of his legacy, withdraw MMsOnochie’s nomination to avoid creating more credibility problems for his INEC and restore confidence in our electoral system.

“Where Mr President lacks the courage to so do, then, the National Assembly, which has a responsibility to defend our democracy must endeavour to wake up on the right side of history by rejecting her nomination,” Wike stated.

He said the state will soon pass and introduce the law banning open grazing throughout the State to further strengthen our criminal laws to advance the safety and security of people of the state, noting that “We have worked hard and will continue to support the security agencies to fight crimes and keep lives and property safe and secure in our State.”