BREAKING: Senate Rejects Buhari’s Nomination Of Aide As INEC Commissioner

President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of his personal assistant as National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been rejected by the Senate.

Onochie’s rejection came after opposition political parties and Civil Society Organisations protested her nomination.

The Senate Committee Chairman on INEC, Kabiru Gaya, said Onochie fell short of the requirement of the Federal Character principles in a report he presented to the upper chamber on Tuesday.

THE WHISTLER earlier reported that Onochie, who is President Buhari’s special assistant on social media, had disowned her party, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), during her screening by the committee.

“Since 2019, I have not had anything to do with any political organisation in this country. Even the Buhari Support Organisation…I have not had anything to do with them since 2019” she had said.

The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room had called on the Senate to reject Onochie’s nomination on the grounds that she is “a known partisan supporter of Buhari,” adding that it was important that “the composition of INEC is transparently non-partisan and independent of partisan political manipulation.”