Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has proclaimed Umaru Fintri, governor of Adamawa State, the official winner of the state’s governorship election.
Fintri, candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), received 438,221 votes to defeat Aishatu Dahiru, alias Binani, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who received 396,788 votes.
Fintiri, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, received 9,337 more ballots than Senator Aishatu ‘Binani’ Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who received 6,513 votes.
The Tuesday, 5:49 p.m. announcement by INEC was preceded by a succession of political intrigues.
INEC declared the election for governor last month inconclusive, and a supplementary election was scheduled for last Saturday.
Contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa Ari, declared Binani the winner on Sunday while counting was in progress.
In the instance of the election of a state governor, Section 25 of the Electoral Act, 2022 authorises only the returning officer to announce the election results and declare the winner at the state collation centre.
Interestingly, only 10 of the 20 local government areas (LGAs) had been declared winners in the supplementary election, indicating that Fintiri was in the lead, having won in seven LGAs to Binani’s three.
The APC candidate immediately gave an acceptance speech after Ari’s declaration.
In response, enraged opposition members mistook a national INEC commissioner for the REC and attacked him.
“A senior citizen, a former vice chancellor of Usman Dan Fodio University, was stripped nude and dragged. Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, stated in a strongly worded statement that the commission would not tolerate such conduct.
He also urged the security agencies to identify the perpetrators of this conduct.
“They need to be apprehended, investigated, and prosecuted. “A national commissioner cannot be treated like a common criminal,” he stated.
