The 9th Senate on Tuesday for the first time turned down a request from President Muhammadu Buhari, as it failed to clear Ms Lauretta Onochie as a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Though the senate claimed that Onochie was rejected not because of the overwhelming evidence that she is a card carrying member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) but because there is a National Commissioner from Delta state.
This followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on INEC, presented by the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya, the senate had said.
Gaya said the Committee rejected the nomination of Onochie because there is already a National Commissioner of INEC, Mrs May Agbamuche, representing Delta State in the Commission.
Also, the Senate stepped down the nomination of Professor Sani Mohammad Adam (North Central) to allow for further legislative action.
Buhari had nominated Onochie, who happens to be one of his aides and a card carrying member of the ruling party, and five others for the INEC job of INEC National Commissioner.
But her nomination was greeted with wide rejection as it went against the electoral law which specifically forbids a card carrying member of any political party from being part of the electoral body.
Onochie who was nominated months ago thrice denied being a member of the ruling party when she appeared for screening last week. She said she had severed her ties with the party immediately after the 2019 presidential poll.
However opposition to her nomination continued to swell as more evidence of her membership of the party, which included a recent sworn affidavit, where she swore on oath that she was a member of the party was presented to the senate.
Other names on the list are, Prof. Muhammad Kallah (Katsina); Prof. Kunle Ajayi (Ekiti); Saidu Ahmad (Jigawa); and Dr Baba Bila (North-East).
