By Kamsi Anayo
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed his aide on new media, Lauretta Onochie, as the substantive chairman of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Buhari, in a letter addressed to the Senate President Ahmad Lawan, also announced the nomination of 15 others as NDDC board members.
The letter, which was read at Wednesday plenary, requested the Senate confirm the nominees.
It was gathered that Onochie beat Chief Bernard Okumagba a nominee of the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege to clinch the position.
Her appointment my trigger resistance as she is not from the oil producing region of Delta State.
Buhari had, in October 2020, nominated Onochie as National Commissioner of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to represent Delta State.
Her nomination was greeted with massive outrage, with many opposition politicians and civil society groups calling for her rejection on the grounds that she was too partisan to serve in a sensitive institution like INEC.
She was also accused of being a card-carrying member of All Progressives Congress, a claim she denied three times during her screening.
The Senate rejected her nomination based on federal character principle.
The chairman of the screening panel, Sen. Kabiru Gaya said there was currently a serving commissioner of INEC from Delta State, where Onochie hails from, and confirming her appointment would violate constitutional provision.”
President Muhammadu Buhair has finally forwarded Ms Lauretta Onochie to the Senate as chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC confirming the story first exclusively broken by GWG.NG a month ago.
Onochie according to GWG.NG beat Chief Albert Okumagba who was the nominee of the deputy president of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.
Onochie who has until now served as President Buhari’s special assistant on New Media is not from the oil producing region of Delta State but lawmakers are expected to follow tradition that emerged with the first board that saw Chief Onyeama Ugochukwu from the non-oil producing section of Abia State as chairman.
