Adamawa guber poll drama: With 430,861 votes, PDP’s Fintiri re-elected governor

 

 

Chigozie Ikpo, Adekunle Adesuji, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has declared Governor Ahmadu Fintiri winner of the 2023 governorship election in Adamawa State.

 

Ahmadu Fintiri polled 9,337 in the supplementary polls to bring his total to 430,869 while Senator Binani got 6,513 in the supplementary elections, bringing her total figure to 398,788.

 

Meanwhile the PDP Governors Forum has congratulated Gov Fintiri on his reelection saying that with the victory, democracy has won.

 

In a statement, the chairman of the Forum, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said, It was a hard fought and hard won victory not just for Gov. Fintiri, but also for Adamawa State, democracy and due process in Nigeria.

 

“Indeed, Nigeria has just been rescued from descent into the abyss. We have just has dodged another bullet.

 

“We commend INEC for redeeming itself and hopes that this is a harbinger of things to come. It is in this regard that the Commission is requested to promptly re-visit all other elections where infractions have been identified. Where the matters have been taken to the Tribunal, INEC should assume a garb and toga of neutrality and inform the Tribunals of the actual events that transpired in the elections. It has been shown by today’s development that INEC can reverse itself where mistakes have been made.

 

“We call on Gov. Fintiri to continue to justify this huge mandate and trust of the people of Adamawa State.”

 

Also speaking, the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubarkar in a statement congratulates Gov Fintiri, on his deserved reelection as governor of Adamawa State.

 

“Thank you to the people of Adamawa and men and women of goodwill for staying the course in resisting coupists and enemies of democracy from having their way. The lesson from this exercise and others is the need for Nigerians to be vigilant and never give in to anti-democratic forces whose objective is to snatch, run with and undermine the mandate of the people as freely expressed in their votes. By the way, it is not yet uhuru as we still have one more major mandate to reclaim, and together as ONE, we shall accomplish the task for the good of our country and its people.”

Meanwhile The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, declined to hear an ex-parte application the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Aisha Dahiru Ahmed, filed for an order to halt further action on the ongoing governorship election in Adamawa State.

 

Rather, the court, in a ruling that was delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, ordered the counsel that appeared for the Applicant, Mr. Mohammed Sheriff, to address whether or not it has the requisite jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

Justice Ekwo thereafter adjourned the suit till April 26 for counsel to the Applicant to address the court on the issue of jurisdiction.

Even though a lawyer, Afeez Matanmi, announced his appearance for the incumbent governor of Adamawa state, Ahmadu Fintiri, he was however not allowed to address the court since the APC candidate brought the action through an ex-parte application.

Senator Aisha had in the ex-parte application marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/510/2023, applied for leave of the court to allow her to seek, “an order of prohibition and certiorari removing to this court for the purpose of being set aside the administrative decision of the 1st Respondent made on 16th April 2023 in respect of the declaration of the winner from the gubernatorial election of Adamawa State held on the 18th of March, 2023 and the supplementary election held on 15th April 2023.”

As well as, an order of the court, “preventing the 1st Respondent, its agent, assign or any person acting on its behalf from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the winner from the gubernatorial election of Adamawa State held on the 18th of March and the supplementary election held on 15th April 2023, pending the determination of the application for judicial review”.

Whereas the APC was listed as the 2nd Applicant in the suit, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate/incumbent governor of the state, Fintiri, were cited as 1st to 3rd Respondents.

It will be recalled that INEC had declared that the Adamawa state governorship election was inconclusive, even as it ordered a supplementary election.

However, midway into the collation of results of the supplementary poll that held last Saturday, the Adamawa state Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, announced the APC candidate, Aisha, as the winner.

The action elicited instant reactions, with the electoral body not only voiding Yunusa-Ari’s action but equally placing him on an indefinite suspension.

In her suit, the APC candidate insisted that she was declared winner of the governorship election after the collation process was completed.

“Pursuant to the declaration of Senator Aisha Dahiru Ahmed as the winner of the gubernatorial election, any dissatisfied candidate is to resort to the tribunal for redress if any.

“The 2nd Respondent, PDP, and the 3rd Respondent Ahmadu Fintiri, who lost in the election resorted to fighting and causing a public disturbance which led to the beating and manhandling of one of the 1st Respondent staff.

“The crisis caused by the 2nd and 3rd Respondents led the 1st Respondent to announce that it had cancelled the initial declaration made by it on 16tu April 2023”.

She argued that INEC had no powers to cancel or declare a declaration which has been made as null and void.

“The only court with the power on a declaration made from the conduct of an election is only the Election Petition Tribunal set up by the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended)”, the Applicants averred.

However, The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba has ordered the withdrawal of the Commissioner of Police on election duty in Adamawa State, Mohammed Barde, with immediate effect.

He replaced him with the Commissioner of Police in charge of Gombe State, CP Etim Equa, who is to immediately proceed to Adamawa State for election security of the yet-to-be-concluded collation of supplementary election results.

 

Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, while reacting to the development said the IGP is committed to a free and fair process.

He said: “The IGP has given a directive that the commissioner of police on election security in Adamawa State, CP Barde should pull out of Adamawa State and the Commissioner of Police in charge of Gombe State, CP Etim Equa to proceed to Adamawa immediately, to go and supervise the election and provide the necessary information and ensure that the process is a success.”

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) asked the Inspector General of Police to investigate and possibly prosecute the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Adamawa state, Hudu Yunusa Ari over his action in the supplementary elections in Adamawa state.

 

On the development, Adejobi said the IGP is yet to receive any letter from INEC seeking the probe and prosecution of its embattled Resident Electoral Commissioner in Adamawa, Hudu Yunusa-Ari.

.Action of REC amounts to ‘civilian coup’ – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described the action of the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari, as a “civilian coup”.

 

PDP Acting National Chairman Umar Iliya Damagum disclosed this while addressing Journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.

 

REC had on Sunday during  collation of the results of the supplementary governorship election in the state announced the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Aishatu Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, as the winner of the gubernatorial election.

 

The Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, had distanced itself from the REC’s action, declaring the announcement null and void.

 

The electoral umpire has asked the Inspector General of Police to arrest and prosecute the Commissioner.

 

Addressing Journalists on the matter,  Acting Chairman of PDP said  that the incumbent governor and candidate of PDP, Governor Umaru Ahmadu Fintiri, was already in a clear lead.

 

According to him, results from the polling units indicated that the governor was leading, asking INEC to announce the results without delay.

 

He said, “This action by Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari amounts to a “Civilian Coup” with the intention to take control and install an illegal government in Adamawa State contrary to the provision of Section 1 Sub-section 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

 

“The PDP, majority of Nigerians and indeed the International Community are now worried that in spite of the results of the election as obtained from the Polling Units, which show Governor Umaru Ahmadu Fintiri in clear lead, INEC has continued to delay the conclusion of official collation, announcement and declaration of the rightful winner of the election”.

Meanwhile, Supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa State on Tuesday April 18, 2023, resumed their protest against the declaration of Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani as the winner of the Adamawa governorship election.

 

Monday’s protesters were made up of men, women and youths, who had trooped to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Yola where they urged the commission to respect the mandate of the people.

 

However, today’s protest was dominated by women carrying placards demanding the results of the supplementary election collation process be concluded.

Their march to the state office of INEC was halted by security operatives comprised of the Nigerian Police as well as men of the Civil Defence Corps who barred them from gaining entry into the premises

 

The leader of the protesters, Mr Felix Tangwami, condemned the action of the suspended Commissioner Hudu, saying the move was aimed at plunging the state into chaos.

 

Mr Tangwami also called on the court not to entertain the prayers of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Binani claiming it had no merit.