Onochie’s Nomination To INEC Is Bad Omen For Nigerian Democracy – Wike

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has described the attempt to foist Ms. Lauretta Onoche on Nigerians as a national Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a bad omen for Nigeria’s democracy.

The governor made the assertion on Monday at Obi Wali International Conference Centre, Port Harcourt, where he gave account of his stewardship in six years that has ushered Rivers State into an era of unprecedented development in the 23 Local Government Areas of the State.

Governor Wike said the most fundamental consideration in the appointment of a candidate as an electoral umpire, in a democracy, is the elimination of bias.

The governor observed that there is heavily weighted bias against Ms. Onoche because she is a notorious and repulsively partisan dye-in-the-wool member of the All progressives Congress (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, for the sake of his legacy, withdraw Ms. Onoche’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.”

Speaking on the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, Governor Wike said everyone who means well for Nigeria’s democracy believes that electronic voting and simultaneous transmission of results have the potential to prevent the large-scale rigging of election.

Governor Wike commended the House of Representatives for affirming and reassuring Nigerians on its positive provisions in the proposed bill on electronic voting and simultaneous transmission of unit results by electronic means.

“President Buhari readily attributes his victory in both the 2015 and 2019 polls to the introduction of the novel card reader device by President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration; yet he has been overly reluctant on the need to midwife the birth of a new, transparent, efficient and trustworthy electoral system for the country.

“Let me therefore warn that we do not need a soothsayer to tell us that to allow the old ways of doing things and much vilified status quo to continue to prevail in our electoral system as recommended by the Senate’s version of the bill would be a complete disservice to the nation and a recipe for disaster for our country.”

Governor Wike stated that with commitment to purpose and prudent management of available resources, his administration in the past six years has drastically changed the development trajectory of the State for the better.

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