The Northern Peoples Democratic Party New Media Strategists, NPDPNMS, has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for nominating his media aide, Lauretta Onochie, as a Commissioner at the National Independent Electoral Commission, INEC.
Recall that Mr Buhari had forwarded the mane of Mrs Onochie to the National Assembly for confirmation as a Commissioner of INEC representing Delta State.
Reacting, the group, in a statement on Thursday by its National PRO, Muhammad Abdallah, described the nomination of Mr Onochie as the rigging of the 2023 elections in advance.
According to the group, appointing Mrs Lauretta Onochie who is a Presidential aide and a full-blooded member of the APC into the INEC is akin to being a Judge in your own case.
“We, the northern PDP new media strategists, see this as the rigging of the 2023 elections in advance and will do everything including calling on the international committee of nations to call and sanction President Buhari and his undemocratic manipulations of the electoral body, INEC.
“We will rather President Buhari stop taking Nigerians for a jolly ride of convoluted democracy and just go ahead to appoint a President for Nigeria in 2023 instead of having a Lauretta Onochie as an umpire in an election which her party the APC will run against others,” the group lamented.
While describing the nomination as unacceptable, immoral, and illegal, the group called on the Senate to withdraw Mrs Onochie with immediate effect.
“The Senate of the Federal Republic should reject the nomination if President Buhari does not see reasons to withdraw the nomination with immediate effect.
“President Buhari should also hasten up to initiate Electoral reforms, including assenting to the Electoral Amendment Bill that will bring the required transparency and integrity to Nigeria Elections,” the group added.
