By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja
The Supreme Court of Nigeria, Wednesday, affirmed the election of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri as the authentic governor of Adamawa State.
The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro, dismissed as lacking in merit.
Senator Aisha Dahiru Banani, alongside her party, All Progressive Congress Party (APC) was at the Apex court, challenging the outcome of the governorship election that was held in the state on March 18, 2023.
Senator Binani, has through her, Counsel Chief Akinolu Olujimi, SAN, prayed the court to nullify the declaration of Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)as the valid winner of the gubernatorial contest.
Specifically, she asked the court to set aside the concurrent verdict of the courts below that dismissed their case and upheld Fintiri’s re-election.
She insisted that she polled the majority of valid votes cast at the election and was validly declared the winner by the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC.
She, among other things, prayed the court to determine who ought to be the bona fide Returning Officer in a gubernatorial election.
However, Fintiri, through his lawyer, Mr Damian Dodo, SAN, urged the apex court to dismiss the appeal and validate his election victory.
Fintiri argued that he emerged victorious, having secured the majority of lawful votes and fulfilled all the requirements of the law.
Delivering judgement in the matter, the apex court panel, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, held that the action of the suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Adamawa State, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, who declared Senator Dahiru as the winner of the poll, was an act of irresponsibility and criminality.
The court held that only a Returning Officer has the duty to announce the results of an election to avert chaos and anarchy in the process.
According to the Supreme Court, the Electoral Act, 2022, specified who should declare results, stressing that such power was exclusively donated to the Returning Officer.
Consequently, it resolved all the issues that were raised in the appeal against the appellants.
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