Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa and the state governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Aishatu Ahmed Binani, would have to wait till April 15 to know their political fate in the last governorship poll which was declared inconclusive.
This is because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday fixed April 15 for the conduct of the supplementary governorship elections in Kebbi and Adamawa states.
The nation’s electoral body also said all outstanding National and State Assembly supplementary elections will be held on the same date.
LEADERSHIP reports that INEC had declared the governorship elections of March 18 in both states as inconclusive.
In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday, INEC’s national commissioner and chairman Voter Education and Enlightenment Festus Okoye, said all outstanding governorship, National, and State Assembly supplementary elections will take place on Saturday 15th, April.
The statement reads in part: “Arising from its meeting held today, the Independent National Electoral Commission has decided that all outstanding Governorship, National and State Assembly supplementary elections will take place on Saturday 15th April 2023.”
It will be recalled that 26 State Governorship, 104 Senatorial, 329 Federal and 935 State constituency elections have been concluded and winners declared.
Consequently, the commission supplementary Governorship elections will be held in Adamawa and Kebbi States, five Senatorial Districts, 31 Federal and 58 State Assembly constituencies.
It said owing to the competitive nature of the elections, especially for legislative seats, supplementary elections will be held in just a few polling units in some constituencies.
The statement by the commission reads in part: “A comprehensive list of the polling units by State, Local Government, Registration Area, registered voters and PVCs collected will be published on our website on or before Wednesday 29th March 2023.
“Meanwhile, the commission has fixed Saturday, 15th April, 2023 for the conduct of the supplementary elections in the affected polling units nationwide.
“We appeal to all political parties, candidates and stakeholders to note the date and locations of the supplementary elections. The earlier accreditation for polling and collation agents, observers and the media still subsists for the supplementary elections.”
The commission urged political parties, candidates and their supporters to see the exercise as an election and not war.
INEC urged them to avoid incendiary statements and negative mobilisation so that the elections can be conducted and concluded as scheduled.
Meanwhile, the PDP has cautioned INEC and the APC not to tamper with the results already announced and declared at the polling units in the Adamawa State governorship election.
The PDP national publicity secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, said this while alleging fresh plots by APC to alter results of the Adamawa State in the state.
Ologunagba who stated this during a press conference in Abuja said Governor Ahmadu Fintiri was in clear lead with 31,299 lawful votes above the candidate of the APC, Senator Aisha Binani, according to results already declared by INEC.
He added that the APC candidate had been desperate to compromise the election against the expressed Will of the good people of Adamawa State.
Ologunagba recalled that PDP had earlier alerted Nigerians on how the APC and some compromised INEC officials attempted to move the collation of results of the Adamawa State governorship election from Yola to Abuja to enable the INEC Returning Officer declare the APC candidate the winner.
He however said the move was firmly resisted by the people of Adamawa State.
He said, “When that plot failed, the APC pressured INEC to cancel results in 69 Polling Units citing overvoting but with the clandestine intention of manipulating the re-run election in favour of the APC candidate.
“The APC candidate has been allegedly boasting that she has the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) and Returning Officer for the election who she reportedly claims are willing to manipulate the election results in her favour notwithstanding the votes by the people of Adamawa State.
Binani’s Lawyer Submits Petition To INEC
Meanwhile, the APC governorship candidate in Adamawa, Senator Aishatu Ahmed Binani has submitted a petition to the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu calling for a review of the election results of the 18″ March governorship election in a number of local government areas in Adamawa State.
Submitting the petition through her lawyer, Binani said, “We are aware INEC ordered reviews for Abia and Enugu governorship results. A similar review was also done in Doguwa Constituency in Kano State in line with Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022.
“My lawyer has similarly applied to the commission for a Certified True Copy of the Bio-modal Verification Authentication System (BVAS) used for 18″ March, 2023 for Adamawa State elections.”
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