Lauretta Onochie, is a Delta State-born Consultant, who is largely seen as a controversial appointee, due to her tweets attacking those who attack the presidency and government policies. She is very visible on social media ready to defend the federal government against the slightest attack by social media users.
If there are any take-away young ones should adopt from Laurreta Onochie, it is her resilience and her dogged fight for her Principal, President Muhammed Buhari. Onochie does not find attacks against her boss funny, she fights back.
She is a die-hard supporter of President Buhari. Onochie, many times has taken the bullet for him, shifting focus from her principal and taking the hit from Nigerians on social media.
Being a lover of her boss and diehard loyalist, she has proven herself as one who would not run fowl of anything committed into her hands.
She has proven to know her boss and Nigerians, that she knows her onions. By this, there are strong possibilities that she would not dash the fragile confidence Nigerians have in the electoral process.
Lauretta is an experienced Consultant, who has crossed many paths, including being a Public Servant, who demonstrates a high level of commitment to policies of the federal government.
She has a rich history of working in the education management industry. She is also skilled in development of Non-profit Organizations, Business Planning, Coaching, Lecturing, and Event Management.
A strong consulting professional with a Post Graduate focused in Post Compulsory Education and Training from University of Greenwich, she was the Social Media Aide to Buhari before her recent elevation to the post of an INEC Commissioner.
An ardent user of Social Media, the erstwhile Special Aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Lauretta Onochie; is known for taking to twitter to bash whoever she perceives as a thorn in the flesh of Buhari’s administration.
Surprisingly, Onochie is a Pastor and a child behaviour deficiency correctional expert.
Against wide speculations and lies spread about her marriage, Onochie is a single mum who married only once. Her family lives in the United Kingdom, leaving them and a lecturing job in the United Kingdom to join President Buhari’s government.
Onochie is popular for her controversial tweets, although she is not perturbed by the outrage her tweets generate. Among her most notable controversial tweets was when she called a sitting Senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe a “Buffoon” because the Senator called for the resignation of President Buhari over insecurity in the country. She has also taken the likes of Atiku, Wizkid and others to the cleaners.
Recently, the leadership of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, expressed its discomfort with the nomination of Lauretta Onochie, for the position of National Commissioner in the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, saying that the nomination is an ominous, violent assault on Nigerian Constitution and democracy.
PDP in a statement by Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, the party’s national publicity secretary noted that Onochie is a card carrying and financial member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and therefore cannot be appointed as one of INEC’s national Commissioners for the fact that by virtue of her absolute loyalty to her party, APC, she will certainly not be neutral in the discharge of her assigned responsibilities, as enshrined the constitution and other subsidiary enactments.
However, her role has changed; the duties are different. As an INEC Commissioner, Onochie is expected to be neutral, impartial and transparent. She would support the four pillars holding the structures of INEC and her functions as a Commissioner. No doubt, Onochie has proven beyond doubts and by all standards that she is capable of walking the path of transparency without any slip. Assuming this new role with all sense of responsibility has been the main thing for her. She knows what is at stake and is ready to work as an electoral umpire for the country.
In no way has President Buhari played on the collective intelligence of Nigerians by nominating or appointing Onochie. She is qualified, fit and an acceptable Deltan who could be highly apolitical, when the need arises. When did serving as a Social Media Aide become a crime?
She has played her role well as a Lecturer, a Consultant, Education manager; a business planner; a Coach; and an Event Manager. No doubt, she would play a better role as an INEC Commissioner.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the Editorial Board of TheScript Newspaper
