Adamawa Guber Poll: PDP Govs fume over controversial declaration, demand authentic winner

…Say odd declaration ‘lowest point of 2023 General elections,’ ’national disgrace’

…Weed out corrupt, extremely partisan officials — Govs to INEC

…As INEC suspends REC indefinitely

By Moses Adeniyi

Although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday suspended and warned its National Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa to steer clear from its premises over the confusion he set to course on the odd declaration he made of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aisha Dahiru Binani as Governor-elect before the conclusion of the collation process, Governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who have the Adamawa State Governor, Umaru Fintiri on their side as the PDP candidate, took a whip on the electoral umpire, demanding declaration of the authentic winner.

Governors on the platform of the PDP under auspices of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP Governors’ Forum, on Monday condemned in the strongest term the drama which played out from the action of the REC who on Sunday declared Binani the candidate of the APC winner when ongoing collation of the Adamawa State of the Supplementary Governorship election in relation to the inconclusive March 18 gubernatorial election was yet to be concluded.

Fuming on Monday, the Governor Aminu Tambuwal-led PDP Governors’ Forum described the act by the INEC’s officer, a show of national disgrace.

Describing the act as perhaps the lowest point of the 2023 General Elections, the PDP Governors Forum demanded  INEC to weed out corrupt and extremely partisan officials.

In a statement signed by the Forum’s Director General, Hon. C.I.D. Maduabum, in Abuja, Monday, the Governors said partisan method of appointment of electoral officials informed what they described as a “national disgrace” in Adamawa State.

“The attempted electoral heist and brigandage perpetrated by the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barrister Hudu Yunusa, is perhaps the lowest point of the 2023 General elections.

“We commend the immediate steps taken by the INEC as an institution to recover its battered image by nullifying the attempted coup and suspending the REC.

“The appropriate Returning Officer, Mele Lamido, should immediately conclude the collation and declare the result.

“One of the most important lessons of this election season is that the integrity of INEC personnel is crucial to free, fair, and credible elections as well as the deployment of technology.

“Going forward, there should be a deliberate process of revisiting the appointments of National and Resident Electoral Commissioners to weed out corrupt and extremely partisan officials. It is the partisan method of appointment of these officials that led to national disgrace in Adamawa State.

“Appropriate sanctions, including prosecution of all those involved, especially the former Resident Electoral Commissioner,  Barrister Hudu Yunusa, should be swiftly commenced to serve as an example to others.

“We enjoin all Nigerians to be on alert as we brace up to emerging threats to our democracy and the struggle for good governance in Nigeria,” they said.

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who is also on the PDP platform, took the conversation further, calling on INEC to declare the authentic winner of the governorship election in Adamawa state.

Makinde who made his appeal when he met Fintiri his Adamawa State counterpart on a solidarity visit at the Government House in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, on Monday, described the odd declaration of the APC candidate as the winner of the poll is unimaginable and a shame on the person of Ari.

The Governor also urged the people of Adamawa State to remain calm and assured that the current situation will be resolved amicably.

Recall that Ari, in the early hours of Sunday, sneaked into the State Governorship Collation Centre to declare Binani of APC as winner of the governorship poll, a development that set the political space on a heat of controversy.

INEC worried by the dent the act is capable of rubbing on its image, suspended Ari indefinitely from office, following his odd declaration, ordered him to stay away from the office of the Commission in Yola.

INEC in a letter dated April 17, 2023  signed by its Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony directed its Administrative Secretary in the State to take charge of its affairs.

The letter reads partly, “I hereby convey the Commission’s decision that you (Barr. Hudu Yunusa Ari), Resident Electoral Commissioner, Adamawa State should stay away from the Commission’s office in Adamawa State immediately until further notice.partly.

“The Administrative Secretary has been directed to take full charge of INEC, Adamawa State with immediate effect.”

Fintiri the State Governor who is running on the platform of the PDP in the results declared prior to the odd declaration, was in the lead from the results of 10 councils so far declared in the supplementary polls.

INEC had following the odd declaration, in a tweet on its official Twitter handle on Sunday told 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.

The Commission had on Sunday via its Twitter handle noted that the process has clearly not been concluded before he made the announcement, declaring his action, “null, void and of no effect.”

In reaction, the presidential candidate of the PDP in the General Elections, Atiku Abubakar, had described the action as a ploy by INEC “to compromise the electoral wishes of the people of Adamawa State,” with “a preset agenda of declaring the APC at all cost.”

Atikuh had said that the Adamawa people won’t avail themselves to be “cheated three times in a row.”

In a statement by Paul Ibe, media aide to the PDP presidential flagbearer, Atiku called on Nigerians to the “game plan of trying to up-turn the democratic wishes of the people of Adamawa State in the governorship election in the state.”

Atiku said the initial decision of the REC in Adamawa State to declare the APC candidate, Binani, as the winner of the election, is a case study “to the shambolic nature of the 2023 elections in general.”

“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 challenging 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 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.

“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,” he said.