Drama As INEC Voids REC’s Declaration Of Binani As Adamawa Governor Elect

Following the confusion created by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Hudu Ari, in declaring Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmad Binani as Governor-elect of Adamawa State, the national headquarters of the electoral body has voided the declaration, stressing that it is null and void.

The Commission swiftly reacted to the REC’s announcement in Adamawa declaring Senator Binani the winner of the governorship rerun election ahead of the collation of results, saying that the process was totally at variance with established procedures and processes.

A statement by Mr Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner-in-Charge of Information & Voter Education, said that the process had clearly not been concluded.

The Commission noted that the REC, Mr Hudu Ari, ‘s action, usurped the power of the Returning Officer, stressing that it was, therefore, null, void, and of no effect.

Consequently, INEC resolved that the collation of results of the supplementary election has been suspended.

Accordingly, INEC headquarters directed the REC, Returning Officer and all involved to report to the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja immediately.

In the early hours of Sunday, Yunusa Hudu Ari sneaked into the Adamawa State Governorship collation and declared Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed of the All Progressives Congress the winner of the state governorship polls.

Binani, according to official results released by the INEC before her declaration, was trailing behind Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, who had established a margin of lead of 31,249 votes.

But Fintiri, despite polling 421,524 votes to defeat Binani who polled 390, 275 votes could not be returned by the state returning officer, Professor Mohammed Mele, a Professor of English and Linguistics from the University of Maiduguri, because the margin of lead did not exceed the number of cancelled votes in 69 polling units with a total number of Permanent Voters Card collected of 37,016.

However, when the collation of results from the supplementary polls, which were held across the state on Saturday, resumed concluding the Adamawa governorship election exercise, a mild drama ensued as the Adamawa REC, who had abruptly suspended the collation exercise until 11 a.m. on Sunday, sneaked into the collation centre at 9:00 a.m. to declare Binani the winner.