Adamawa: INEC chair leads panel to quiz REC, commission can’t remove Ari

The outrage that followed the illegal announcement of the All Progressives Congress candidate, Senator Aishatu Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, as the winner of the governorship election in Adamawa State by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, has yet to abate.

Hudu Yunusa-Ari usurped the duties of the state governorship election returning officer, Professor Mohammed Mele, of the Department of English and Linguistics, University of Maiduguri, by announcing the winner even when the collation had yet to be concluded.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had at 1am on Sunday shifted the announcement of the state supplementary election results to 11 am after results from 11 out of 20 local government areas where reruns were held had been declared.

But before 11am, the REC at 9 am came to the state INEC office in Yola, where the results were being collated and announced the All Progressives Congress candidate, Senator Aishatu Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, as the winner of the governorship election.

According to electoral law, the REC has no power to announce the winner of the election. The responsibility lies with the state collation officer appointed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

However, Binani had immediately given an acceptance speech.

Prior to her declaration, Binani was trailing behind Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party, who had established a margin of lead of 31,249 votes.

Before the supplementary poll, Fintiri polled 421, 524 votes ahead of Binani who got 390, 275 votes.

Fintiri could not, however, be declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election by the state by the state returning officer, Professor Mohammed Mele, of the Department of English and Linguistics, University of Maiduguri, because the margin of lead did not exceed the number of cancelled votes in 69 polling units.

But results from the 10 councils on Saturday had showed that Governor Fintiri was adding to his lead of 31,249 with wins in Demsa, Lamurde, Jada, Ganye, Song, Maiha, Hong and Shelleng while Binani won only in Yola North and Yola South.

The declaration of Binani was annulled by INEC, which generated tension across the state.

INEC in the statement nullifying Ari’s action asked Nigerians to disregard the pronouncement at the collation centre.

It said it summoned the REC and other officials, who usurped the duties of the returning officer to Abuja.

The National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC, Festus Okoye, who signed the statement on Sunday, noted, “The action of the REC is a usurpation of the power of the Returning Officer and therefore null, void and of no effect. Consequently, the collation of the result of the supplementary election held yesterday 15th April 2023 is suspended forthwith.

“The REC for Adamawa State and all other officials involved in the process are hereby directed to report immediately to INEC headquarters in Abuja.”

The PUNCH also learnt that the REC would appear before a committee of the commission led by the National Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, on Monday (today).

Asked to state when the REC would appear before the panel, a source close to the national chairman, “Immediately. He’s on the way. He will appear before the commission by Monday. He was summoned to the headquarters today and he will appear tomorrow.”

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Sunday, the PDP spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, asked INEC to declare Fintiri the winner of the election “because the results so far showed that he won clean and clear.”

Appraising the Adamawa REC’s conduct, a former Director, Voter Education and Publicity at INEC, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, noted that Yunusa-Ari ought to face a sort of ‘inquisition.’

Osaze-Uzzi, who stated that INEC could not discipline a REC, noted thatt only the President acting on the resolution by the two-thirds majority of the Senate could remove the REC.

He said, “Ordinarily for doing what he did, the REC ought to face some kind of inquisition.

“Under the Constitution, his duty is limited to delegated assignments or duties – what the Commission delegates or assigns to him so the Commission may decide not to delegate or assign any duty to him in the meantime. But only the President can remove him.

“But to remove him, the President can only act on an address by an address by a two-thirds majority of the Senate in accordance with section 6(3) of the Act.

“However, INEC can undertake an inquiry into what happened and I am sure they will do that. But in terms of discipline or removal, it is the President that can do that.

“Also, it is to be noted that any person who announces or publishes an election result knowing the same to be false commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for 36 months under section 120(4) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

“And under section 6(2) of the Act, the REC is answerable to the Commission.”

Also, a former INEC Director, Nick Dazang said, “By virtue of the regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the 2023 general elections, all returning and collation officers are appointees of the INEC Chairman.

“By declaring a purported winner when the process was ongoing, the REC, Adamawa usurped powers not delegated to him. He also acted unprofessionally.

“Since the chairman, by law cannot remove the REC, we expect that he should recommend, based on this unbecoming and unprofessional behaviour, that he be removed or directed to resign.

“Similar sanctions should apply to other recs who have carried themselves in like manner.”

Expressing anger over the development in Adamawa, the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in a press release signed by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, said the initial decision of the Adamawa REC to declare Binani as the winner of the election was a pointer to how miserable the commission had fared in the conduct of the 2023 general elections.

His statement partly read, “Here 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 pre-set agenda of declaring the APC at all costs.

Adamawa REC

“We have seen how INEC conducted the February 25 and March 18 elections against the run of play and challenged 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 be cheated three times in a row.”

In his comment, the Chief Spokesman of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, described the REC declaration of Binani as the winner when the counting of votes has not been completed as an embarrassment to the nation.

Reacting to the declaration by the state REC, Governor Fintiri appealed for calm, noting that the illegal announcement of the APC candidate as the election winner has put the integrity of the electoral body to test.

Extracted from PUNCH