An Affidavit Evidence showing that Buhari’s Aide ( Lauretta Onochie ) Lied About Her APC Membership has emerge.
GoldenNewsNg gathered that Lauretta Onochie, President Muhammadu Buhari’s social media adviser, is still a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and is equally involved in party affairs.
The Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), chaired by Senator Kabir Gaya, screened Lauretta Onochie in preparation for her appointment as INEC Commissioner.
The screening, however, took a dramatic turn when it became contentious, dividing the panel over her membership in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which was concerned that she may become partisan in a position where she was supposed to be independent and unbiased.
Lauretta Onochie , 62-year-old female politician claimed to have attended the University of Calabar and the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom, having migrated there at one point.
Lauretta Onochie , who was the last of the six contenders to be examined, acknowledged that she had received numerous petitions, but claimed she had learned to be liberal and non-partisan at her previous job in the United Kingdom.
However, the panel expressed concern about the numerous petitions filed against her by political parties, civil society organisations, and individuals, and wondered how she would clear herself of being partisan, considering her active participation in partisan politics.
Onochie stated in her statement that she was called to join the APC and work for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2014 after being invited from the United Kingdom.
She further stated that she resigned as a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress and stopped active politics after President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in the second election in 2019.
“Distinguished members of the Committee, I am aware of the various petitions filed against me, especially against the incumbent INEC Commissioner,” she stated. The woman is from Delta State, which is where I was born, but she is married to a Cross River man and represents Cross River rather than Delta.
“I have removed myself from active politics after the 2019 elections, and even during the present APC membership drive, I did not register, and I am currently not a member of any political party,” she stated.
However, GoldenNewsNg gathered that the affidavit she swore on June 30, 2021, at the FCT High Court in Abuja revealed that she is still a member of the APC and was an active participant in a United Kingdom election in which she also contested revealed that she is still a member of the APC. She also said that she is a part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s support group.
“That I am an educationist having served as Headmistress of Auntie Margaret International School, Calabar,” the affidavit stated. In addition, I worked as a lecturer at Epping Forest College in Essex, England.
“That I am also active in politics and a member of the Neighborhood Watch, as well as having run for Local Government in the United Kingdom under the Conservative Party.
“I am also a volunteer with the Buhari Support Organization and a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress.”
She had previously denied being a member of any political party in response to Senator Instifanus Gyang’s request that she speak to the affidavit she submitted to the panel while preparing to attend the screening.
Senator Lawal Gumau, who sat next to the Committee Chairman and was whispered to by the Chairman, interfered when the Committee felt uncomfortable as a result of her answer.
Senators from the PDP and the APC have been at odds for some time.
Senator Seriake Dickson, a former governor of Bayelsa State, voiced alarm, saying that while he would have supported Onochie’s nomination because she is from the Niger Delta, her membership in the APC goes against the constitution, which is a huge issue.
Lauretta Onochie Affidavit
