For a second time, the political intrigues and confusion trailing the governorship race in Adamawa State has defied the electoral process regarded as one of the most essential ingredients of democracy.
The governorship poll which was declared inconclusive last month has remained a challenge to democratic transition, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday suspended the collation of results from the supplementary governorship election held in the state on Saturday.
Specifically, the electoral body declared the result of the poll null and void on grounds that the pronouncement of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aisha Dahiru (Binani), as winner of the election by the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ari Hudu, when the process had not been concluded was an usurpation of powers of the Returning Officer.
At about 9am yesterday, Hudu threw a spanner in the works of the state’s supplementary governorship election when he declared Binani winner of the election.
Apparently enraged by the declaration of Binani as winner, members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who were at the state collation centre in Yola lost their cool and descended both verbally and physically on the INEC REC.
While results from 10 local government areas announced showed that Binani was trailing the PDP candidate, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, before the collation exercise was suspended on Saturday night, the collation of results from the remaining 10 councils was expected to commence by 11am on Sunday.
But the returning officer for the Adamawa governorship election, Mele Lamido, who is empowered by law to declare the winner of the election, was absent when Yunusa-Ari announced Binani as the winner of the election.
Embarrassed by the development, INEC noted that the REC declared the result even when the process had not been concluded.
The commission, in a statement issued yesterday by the national commissioner, Information and Voter Education, Barr Festus Okoye, suspended the election and summoned the REC, Returning Officer, and other involved in the election.
INEC said it was deeply disturbed by the harassment of our two national commissioners deployed to the State to ensure a peaceful and credible supplementary election.
It also condemned in strong terms the stripping of its national commissioner during the Adamawa State supplementary election.
A viral video show that INEC national commissioner (name withheld) was stripped by unknown persons in Adamawa State.
“A National Commissioner can not be treated as a common criminal, a former vice chancellor of Usman Danfodio University was stripped naked and dragged, this Commission will not allow that to stand,” Okoye said
He said the commission would not condone any act of lawlessness or brigandage targeted at our officials or the process.
Meanwhile, despite the position of INEC headquarters rendering the action of the Adamawa REC as usurpation of the power of the returning officer, null, void and of no effect, the state chapter of APC yesterday congratulated Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani as winner of the election.
The state chairman of the party, Samaila Tadawus, noted at a press conference that the declaration of Binani as the winner did not come to the party as a surprise because of her political trajectory and record of achievements.
“This is a victory for APC and the people of Adamawa”, Tadawus said, calling on the people of the state “to disregard all rumours being spread by our opponents.
“In view of the above, the APC state EXCO is hereby congratulating, Her Excellency, all party members from ward, local government area, state and national levels respectively,” he added.
The APC chairman thanked INEC for conducting a free, fair and peaceful election in Adamawa.
Meanwhile, in her acceptance speech, the APC governorship candidate, Binani, , thanked God for her emergence as winner of the election.
She said her success at the polls would further encourage women to vie for political positions in future.
Atiku, PDP, Shehu Sani Cry foul, Fintiri Urges Calm
But the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday described the events trailing the Adamawa State supplementary governorship election as a game plan to up-turn the democratic wishes of the people of the state.
Atiku, in a statement signed by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, said the initial decision of the REC in Adamawa State to declare the APC candidate winner of the election, is a case study to the shambolic nature of the 2023 elections in general.
He said, “Here in Adamawa, we are witnesses to a novel practice in election management where a Resident Electoral Commissioner announced the loser of an election as a winner.
“It is not in doubt that INEC has approached the Adamawa State election with a preset agenda of declaring the APC at all cost.
“It is, therefore, on this note that we wish to call the attention of the world to the scheme being perpetrated by INEC to compromise the electoral wishes of the people of Adamawa State.
“We also wish to inform the world that such behaviour by INEC has a natural consequence of unsettling the peace and security of the society.
“We have seen how INEC conducted the February 25 and March 18 elections against the run of play and challenged cheated candidates to go to the court, knowing full well the agenda that they are up to.
“It must be put on record that the people of Adamawa State will not allow themselves to be cheated three times in a row. It must also be put on record that whatever the consequences of the scheme being scripted, both the INEC and those vested with state powers should be blamed for the consequences of such actions.
“That the APC candidate has a prepared acceptance speech is a pointer to the guarantee of a false victory which the INEC must have promised her.
“Recall that this was the same Resident Electoral Commissioner who pressured the Returning Officer to manipulate the results of the contentious Fufore Local Government Area in the March 18 governorship election.
“The people of Adamawa shall not allow this injustice to pass without being challenged. We demand the immediate resumption of the collation of results and its finalisation today.
“It is also our demand that the Adamawa REC and any other parties complicit in this treasonable act should be arrested immediately and prosecuted to the full extent of the law to serve as a deterrent to anti-democratic forces who may want to torpedo our democracy and provoke violence in our country”.
Also yesterday, the PDP called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Adamawa REC, Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari, for making an illegal declaration of the APC candidate as the winner of the state governorship election.
The PDP, in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Hon Debo Ologunagba, also asked INEC headquarters to direct the Returning Officer to conclude collation, announce the results from the polling units, and declare their candidate, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, as the winner.
The PDP has accused the Adamawa REC of being compromised by the APC and its candidate to manipulate the election in their favour, despite the votes by the people of Adamawa State.
Ologunagba stated: “The PDP calls on the people of Adamawa State, Nigerians and the International Community to disregard the purported declaration of the defeated Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aisha Binani as winner of the Adamawa State Governorship election.
“It is even more absurd that the Adamawa State REC did not only usurp the powers of the Returning Officer but attempted to declare a winner without figures in reckless violation of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, INEC Guidelines as well as the sensibility of the people of Adamawa State.”
“Mallam Yunusa Ari’s action is subversive and calculated to cause a crisis in Adamawa State, destabilize our democracy and peaceful co-existence as a nation.”
The PDP insisted that the REC’s action was subversive and calculated to cause a crisis in the state and destabilize democracy and peaceful co-existence as a nation.
The PDP noted that the results already collated across the 69 polling units where the supplementary elections were held, and which are on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, clearly show that Governor Fintiri won the election.
The PDP demanded that INEC should announce the results as already collated from the polling units and declare Governor Fintiri as the winner without further delay.
“From the results already collated across the 69 Polling Units where the supplementary elections were held and which are on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, Governor Fintiri clearly won the election.
“The PDP therefore demands that INEC Headquarters should immediately direct the Returning Officer to conclude collation, announce the results from the Polling Units and declare our candidate, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri as winner, having scored the majority of lawful votes cast,” the party stated.
Also, a Kaduna State Senator who represented state’s Central Senatorial district at the 8th Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani, has said the declaration of governorship election results of Adamawa State in which the candidate of the APC, Aisha Binnani, was declared the winner by the REC was equivalent to a civilian coup.
He commended INEC for taking the bold step to suspend the collation of the State supplementary governorship poll.
Senator Sani, in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists in Kaduna on Sunday, commended Prof Mahmud Yakubu and INEC for prompt intervention.
He said, “It was obvious that the REC was out to truncate democracy in the state and by extension Nigeria if his action was allowed unchecked.”
He expressed joy that the statement signed by INEC in which it slammed the action of the Adamawa REC, saying it usurped the power of the Returning Officer, is highly appreciated.
Noting that the good step about the statement is that it declared the announcement “… null, void and of no effect, he said consequently, the collation of results of the supplementary election is hereby suspended.”
Meanwhile, Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has appealed for calm as people of the state await further directive from INEC headquarters, Abuja, onbthe governorship supplementary elections results.
Fintiri in a statewide Broadcast on Sunday said INEC has demonstrated its umpire status by first distancing itself from the act of the REC and assured that the right thing will be done.
He stated: “The right thing in this context is the conclusion of the collation at the designated location and the declaration of a winner by the Returning Officer in the person of Prof Mele Kyari.
“I must thank you for your resilience and resolve to not only exercise your democratic rights but to also protect them. We are on this until justice is done.”
The governor equally called on people of the state to remain peaceful and law-abiding, trusting that the world is watching the enemies of democracy at the height of their shameless brigandage.
“Nobody should take the law into their own hands. Let’s peacefully await the next directive from INEC believing that they do know that the integrity of the Commission is on test”.
DSS Probes Attack On Operative
Meanwhile, the Department of State Services (DSS) has opened an investigation into the attack on one of its operatives during the governorship election re-run in Adamawa State.
In a video that had gone viral, an official of the DSS was seen being manhandled by some thugs in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.
Reacting to the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the DSS, Dr Peter Afunanya, said in a statement that a full investigation into the matter had begun.
Though the DSS didn’t give details of the identity of the staff and the incident, the statement further called for calm in the state.
Part of the statement reads: “The attention of the Department of State Services (DSS) has been drawn to a trending video on social media in which someone suspected to be its staff was allegedly manhandled by some political miscreants in Adamawa State. This followed developments arising from the supplementary governorship election in the state.
“The Service wishes to inform the public that it has commenced a full investigation into the circumstances that led to the incident.
“While calling for calm, the Service also implores concerned parties in Adamawa State to remain peace loving and shun violence,” he said.
APC’s Gwandu Wins Kebbi Gov’ship Election
Meanwhile, the APC candidate in Kebbi State, Dr Nasir Idris Kauran Gwandu, has been declared winner of the re-run governorship election in the state.
Announcing results of the poll yesterday at collation centre in Birnin Kebbi, the state Collation officer, Prof Yusuf Saidu, from Usman Danfodio University said that Nasir Idris Kauran Gwandu of APC, having scored 409,225 votes against 360,940 scored by the PDP candidate, Gen Aminu Bande (rtd), has been declared winner of the 2023 re-run election conducted by INEC in the state.
According to him, the result represented both accumulated results scored by two candidates in the last governorship election held in March 18, which was declared inconclusive and the re-run which was held on April 15.
Saidu thanked INEC officials, security agents, party candidates and their supporters, including journalists, for conducting themselves during and after the elections.
Speaking with journalists, the director-general of the PDP campaign council in the state, Abubakar Shehu Geda, said the announcement made by INEC will not stop them from going to court to seek redress.
He said a lot of revelations will be made at the tribunal when they file their case.
Addressing journalists at the Presidential Lodge in Birnin Kebbi, Gwandu thanked Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and the former governor of the state, Saidu Nasamu Dakingari, and all other stakeholders of APC for the success of the party.
He said his administration would be “government for the people by the people and serve the people.”
Gwandu called on Gen Bande to join him in steering Kebbi State to greater heights
