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The March 18 governorship election in Adamawa was declared inconclusive.
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A supplementary election was held on Saturday to conclude the process.
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Adamawa residents and Nigerians across the country were thrown into shock on Sunday as the state’s REC made an unusual and illegal move.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disowned its Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa State, Hudu Yunusa-Ari.
Recall that Yunusa-Ari sparked controversy on Sunday morning after he usurped Mele Lamido, the returning officer for the Adamawa governorship election, to declare Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the election.
EDITOR’S PICKS
The resident electoral commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Adamawa, Yunusa Ari, has sparked controversy and confusion in the state’s governorship election. On Sunday morning, he declared Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress pic.twitter.com/xkzVB7sPpj
— EkoHotBlog (@ekohotblog) April 16, 2023
The move caused confusion as Ahmadu Fintiri, the incumbent governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was leading Binani by a significant margin as of Saturday night when INEC suspended collation of results.
In a statement by Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner, Information & Voter Education, on Sunday, the commission said the declaration was null and void.
“The attention of the Commission has been drawn to a purported declaration of winner in the Adamawa Governorship election by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) even when the process has clearly not been concluded,” the statement reads.
“The action of the REC is a usurpation of the power of the Returning Officer. It is null, void and of no effect.
“Consequently, the collation of results of the supplementary election is hereby suspended.
“The REC, Returning Officer and all involved are hereby invited to the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja immediately.”
Okoye added that a detailed statement will follow shortly.
FURTHER READING
According to Sections 64 & 65 of the Electoral Act 2022 & Part 3 of INEC guidelines, the power to declare results rests solely on a returning officer appointed by INEC.
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