April 01, (THEWILL) – The Chairman, Governing board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Lauretta Onochie, has been suspended by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State.
Onochie, a former media aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, was suspended by the Executive Committee of the party in her Onicha-Olona Ward 4, Aniocha North Local Government Area, for anti-party activities.
In a suspension letter addressed to the state chairman of the APC, the ward executives said they thoroughly investigated Onochie and found that she engaged in activities that were detrimental to the party’s interests during the 2023 elections.
Onochie’s suspension letter seen by THEWILL was endorsed by 27 members of the ward committee in Aniocha North Local Government Area, including the chairman, Ogbolu Peter Nduka; vice chairman, Osemeke Mokwunye; and ward secretary, Justina Amagor Akaeze, and others.
The ward executives specifically accused Onochie of working for the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta which won the March 18 governorship election in the state. Okowa was the running mate of Atiku Abubakar in the February 25 presidential election.
The letter dated March 20, reads in part: “We have painstakingly reviewed the conduct of the just concluded general elections at all levels and have noted, with dismay, that Lauretta Onochie, who is one of the leaders of our great party, worked against the success of the party in Onicha-Olona Ward 4, and beyond.
“Information available to us show very clearly that she was openly campaigning for the candidates of opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party, in the run-up to the Presidential and National Assembly, as well as the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Election. It was also observed that all her allies and supporters were working for the PDP in the state.
“The evidence of this could be seen in the fact that the party lost in her polling unit (Unit 8, Ward 4) in the Presidential, Senatorial, House of Representatives, Governorship and State Assembly Elections.
“We also note that she has failed to fulfill her financial obligations to the party and has never attended any Ward and LGA meetings or other party engagements.
“In the light of the grievous infractions discovered in her as stated in Article 21,2 (I) (II), we have lost confidence in her membership of the party and hereby suspend her from the party with immediate effect.”
