Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega has faulted the nomination of presidential aide, Lauretta Onochie as an INEC commissioner.
The Herald earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Onochie for the role in October 2020.
Her nomination has since raised serious dust among critics who described her as involved in partisan politics and therefore unqualified to hold the position.
Onochie however denied being a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as claimed by her critics.
Despite her denial, there were strong indications on Sunday that her nomination could be rejected by the Senate on the grounds of partisanship.
Reacting to the controversy generated by Onochie’s nomination, Jega said during an appearance on Channels TV on Sunday that the controversy could have been avoided.
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He said that there were many other women qualified to hold the position, and advised President Buhari to withdraw her nomination.
“This kind of controversy is really avoidable. Any person who generated such a controversy, the appointing authorities should be careful because you don’t want to appoint anybody that can raise suspicions or doubts or can lead to a loss of trust on the electoral management body,” the Jega said.