Records have shown that Lauretta Onochie, Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Media is the number two (2) member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in her Ward.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Onochie denied membership of the APC when on Thursday she was screened for the job of National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, records obtained by TNG from the APC membership register of Ward 4, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State show that Onochie was still a member of the ruling party.
The APC Ward 4, Aniocha North LGA membership register, presented below, vividly shows that Onochie is the number 2 member of the party. Her name was yet to be expunged from the party register.
TNG reports the APC membership register still carries the names and bio data of the INEC Commissioner nominee, including her signature, her telephone number and her registration number.
When the number attached to Onochie’s name on the APC membership register was contacted to clarify on the matter, it remained perpetually busy. The INEC Commissioner nominee did not respond to an SMS sent to her neither did she call back.
Meanwhile, Truecaller, a smartphone application that has features of caller-identification, confirmed the number belongs to the INEC Commissioner nominee. The app returned the names: Lauretta Onochie as captured below.
TNG reports Onochie appeared before the Senate Committee on INEC which screened her for the position of National Commissioner for the electoral management body on Thursday.
She was nominated for the position by President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2020. However, her nomination triggered outrage among Nigerians, who described it as unconstitutional.
Many Nigerians asked Buhari to withdraw her nomination on grounds that she is partisan and so it would be undemocratic for her to be appointed as INEC National Commissioner.
Individuals, Civil Society Organisations and the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) petitioned the Senate opposing Onochie’s nomination.
However, sitting before the Senate Committee on INEC, Onochie at various times when queried denied being a member of the APC.
“I have seen the petitions against me but I stand for justice and fairness. Thus nobody has anything to fear.
“I am madam due process and this is the reason behind my attacks, because I follow the law and due process.
“Since Buhari was elected as president for the second term, I have removed myself from everything about politics.
“Since 2019, I don’t have anything to do with politics. As I am sitting down here, I am not a member of any political party in this country,” Onochie told the Senate Committee.
Meanwhile, aside the APC membership register proving Onochie otherwise, a tweet made by the presidential aide on June 24, 2020, presented below, shows her promoting the APC.
“There is DEFINITELY an APC e-NEC meeting TOMORROW. We are going through a growth process. Thank you everyone,” she tweeted.
At the time of the tweet, the APC National Working Committee (NWC) led by the former chairman, Adams Oshiomhole was embattled, and was eventually dissolved by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
Onochie’s tweet came a day before the dissolution of the APC NWC led by Oshiomhole. The tweet is one of her many open campaigns promoting the APC.
Following the Senate Committee on INEC screening, Onochie took to her official Facebook page on Friday to celebrate her 62nd birthday.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
He forgives all my iniquities;
He heals all my diseases,…Posted by Lauretta Onochie on Thursday, 8 July 2021
Meanwhile, given the uproar that has greeted the nomination, Senate Committee Chairman on INEC, Senator Kabir Gaya had said the confirmation of Onochie as INEC National Commissioner would be left for voice vote on the floor of the Senate.
If confirmed, Onochie will represent Delta State and by extension, the South-south geopolitical zone in the INEC.