APC Urges Senate to Disregard PDP’s Selective Cristicism of Onochie’s Appointment
The All Progressive Congress (APC) has urged the Senate to ignore and disregard the “rash, subjective, misplaced and selective criticisms” purported by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of Lauretta Onochie as National Electoral Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This was contained in a statement made available by the Deputy National Publicity Secretary Yekini Nabena at the Party’s National Secretariat in Abuja. He further accused PDP of being guilty of what they criticize, he said.
“Perhaps the PDP needs to be reminded that one of its card-carrying members, Dr. Johnson Alalibo is the current Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC). Alalibo who was also a former Deputy Whip in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly has been an electoral asset to the PDP but that is an issue to be addressed another day.
According to the statement in which he described PDP’s displeasure as baseless and cheap blackmail, he said “We urge the patriotic 9th Senate to stick with the facts and issues by ignoring the PDP’s grandstanding, cheap blackmail, baseless and subjective allegations of partisanship it is sponsoring against Ms Onochie. For the PDP, Ms Onochie’s capacity and effectiveness as a public servant and senior social media profesional amounts to partisanship.”
“Since public service now equates ‘partisanship’ we invite the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to equally fault appointment of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the current INEC Chairman who was the immediate-past Executive Secretary of the government’s Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) as well as the earlier stated Dr. Johnson Alalibo.
“We equally invite the PDP to query the ‘unquestionable integrity’ of brazen PDP apologists such as Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC; Mike Igini, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Akwa Ibom State, among others.
“We challenge the PDP to point to any of its defunct 16-year administrations that defended and guaranteed the Executive arm of government’s non-interference in INEC’s operation and the true independence of the electoral commission as President Buhari’s government has done.
