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Sodiq Mojibola
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Saturday, April 15 to settle the score for the Governorship elections in Adamawa State that was declared inconclusive.
Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekunmi said this followed a decision taken at the commission’s meeting on Monday.
He said: “Arising from its meeting held today, the Independent National Electoral Commission has decided that all outstanding Governorship, National and State Assembly supplementary elections will take place on Saturday 15th April 2023”.
PLATFORM TIMES recalls that the election umpire said its decision to declare the March 15 polls inconclusive was due to the margin of votes recorded in the election by the contestants.
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Senator Aishatu Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, scored 390, 275 while the incumbent governor of the state and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ahmadu Fintiri, polled 421,524.
The State Collation Officer, Prof. Mohammed Mele, said there were 69 polling units where elections were canceled and therefore affected no fewer than 37,016 potential voters with PVCs in those units.
The APC Candidate, Aishatu Binani had commended the INEC for declaring the election inconclusive.
She premised her position on allegations that the March 18 election in the state was marred with electoral violence, over-voting, amongst other electoral irregularities.
She said, “My position is that the INEC REC did very well by declaring the result inconclusive and my reasons are simple,” she said on Friday during a monitored programme on Channels Television .
“Whoever saw or monitored the election of Adamawa State knows that the election was marred with violence, rigging, over-voting and all manner of irregularities.
“The figures that were deposed were really, as far as I’m concerned, concocted figures.”
“[For instance] if the BVAS accredited only 10 people, you’ll find out that over 30 people must have voted. That is part of irregularities,” she added.
In contrast, the incumbent governor of the state, Ahmadu Fintiri had expressed great dissatisfaction over the declaration of the state election inconclusive by the INEC.
Fintiri alleged that the state Resident Electoral Commission misled the Returning Officer into making a false declaration on the election.
He said, “Because of the inexperience and mindset of the REC, he misled the Returning Officer, there was no need for it (inconclusive).”
Fintiri buttressed his allegation by stating examples of other states with similar issues in the governorship election.
“I was leading by over 35,000. In Ogun, he (Governor Dapo Abiodun) led by 12,000, issues in various units across the state was over 30,000 but the man was declared. The same thing with Kaduna, the same thing in several other states if you go round,” Fintiri said.
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