ochie, who is currently a presidential aide

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Ws OnWas appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in October as an INEC commissioner to represent Delta State.The president, in a letter to the Senate, announced the appointment and sought the lawmakers’ confirmation. The appointment had triggered outrage among Nigerians as many described it as unconstitutional.Many have called on the president to withdraw the nomination on grounds that Ms Onochie is partisan and so it would be undemocratic for her to be appointed into such an office.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, had on June , directed the Senate committee on INEC to screen Ms Onochie Buy Bulk SMS Service  and five other nominees.PREMIUM TIMES reported how her appointment violates Section (a) of the Third Schedule of the Constitution as amended which states that “a member of the commission shall be non-partisan and a person of unquestionable integrity.”While the Senate spokesperson, Aibola Basiru, has said Nigerians who feel Ms Onochie is not qualified to be INEC commissioner should write a petition to the Senate panel.

The petitionThe CSOs, in the petition, noted that Ms Onochie is not only a card-carrying member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), and a Special Assistant to President Buhari on social media, but also notorious for her partisan, biased and in some instances, inflammatory comments on national issues targeted at perceived or imagined enemies of the Buhari government.Given her antecedents, they said, it is highly unlikely that she will remain neutral and objective if successfully screened as one of INEC’s National Commissioners.