INEC declares PDP’s Fintiri winner of Adamawa governorship election
The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has declared that candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmadu Fintiri, as the winner of the supplementary governorship election in Adamawa State.
In last Saturday’s rerun, Fintiri of PDP polled 9,337 votes besting Senator Aishatu ‘Binani’ Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who scored 6,513 votes.
As announced by Professor Mohammed Mele the state Returning Officer of INEC, Fintiri who is the incumbent governor of the state scored a total of 430, 861 votes to defeat Binani who polled 396,788.
Recall INEC had on Sunday suspended collation for the supplementary governorship election in Adamawa after the embattled Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa Ari illegally, announced APC’s Aisha as the winner the Saturday supplementary election.
Section 25 of the Electoral Act, 2022 empowers only the returning officer to announce the result and declare the winner of an election at the state collation centre in the case of election of a governor of a state.
The declaration by Ari was quickly followed by an acceptance speech by the APC candidate.
In response, irate opposition members took their anger out on an INEC national commissioner, whom they mistook for the REC, assaulting him.
“A former Vice Chancellor of Usman Dan Fodio University, a senior citizen was stripped naked and dragged. This commission will not allow that to stand,” INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Festus Okoye said in a strongly worded statement.
He also urged the security agencies to unmask those behind that particular act.
“They must be arrested, they must be investigated and they must be prosecuted. A national commissioner cannot be treated as if he or she is a common criminal,” he said.
