Weeks after the Adamawa State governorship election saga, the suspended State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa Ari, has said he declared A’ishatu Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), as winner due to security pressures.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, suspended Yunusa Ari following the illegal declaration of Binani as winner, which violated the Electoral Act.
However, INEC entered the fray and declared Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the genuine winner of the Adamawa State election after following due process. Fintiri defeated Binani of the APC with 430,861 votes.
INEC has requested that the Inspector-General of Police and other security agencies investigate and prosecute Yunusa Ari.
Ari has not been heard or seen since then, with the exception of his recent letter to the Inspector General of Police.
He explained that he acted within the ambit of the law. According to him, the results to be announced by the INEC Collation Officer differed from the copies he signed and uploaded on the Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
He stated that attempts were made to replace him with his secretary, alleging that the two national commissioners were at the Government House, Yola, at 8:31 pm on April 15, 2023.
Meanwhile, INEC had denied claims of its officials meeting with Fintiri during the supplementary election.
