Adamawa: Drama as REC usurps returning officer, declares Binani gov election winner
The Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Yunusa Hudu Ari, in the early hours of Sunday, sneaked into the state governorship collation centre to declare Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed of the All Progressives Congress winner of the governorship poll.
Binani, according to the official results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, prior to her declaration, was trailing 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 total number Permanent Voter Cards collected of 37,016.
However, at the resumption of the collation of results from the supplementary polls, which was held across the state on Saturday, to conclude the Adamawa governorship election exercise, a mild drama ensued as the Adamawa REC, who had abruptly suspended the collation exercise until 11 am on Sunday, sneaked into the collation centre at 9:00 am to declare Binani the winner.
The PRESS reports that Fintiri is in the lead from the results of 10 councils so far declared in the supplementary polls.
Results from the 10 councils as collated at the time of filing this report showed Fintiri adding to his lead of 31,249 with wins in Demsa, Lamurde, Jada, Ganye, Song, Maiha, Hong and Shelleng councils while Binani won only in Yola North and Yola South out of 10 council areas so far released.
Meanwhile, INEC has in a tweet on its official Twitter handle asked Nigerians to disregard the action of the Adamawa REC, who it accused of usurping the powers of the Returning Officer, Professor Mohammed Mele, and proceeded in announcing the results of the polls that had yet to be tallied and concluded.
