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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to withdraw the nomination of Ms. Lauretta Onochie as national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
He said the desperation of Mr. Presdient and the ruling All Progressives Congress to foist Onochie was 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.
“For goodness sake, the nomination and desperation of President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled National Assembly to foist an invalid Ms. Lauretta 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.
“Despite the flood of protests against her nomination and the general lack of trust in our capacity to remain impartial, it seems the APC-led Senate is determined to confirm her appointment as part of their grand design to rig the 2023 general elections well ahead of time.
“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 Mr. President to, for the sake of his legacy, withdraw Ms. Onochie’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.”
