Adamawa REC writes police, SSS, NSA from hideout how Binani ‘won’ guber poll

By Musa Baba Adamu

Suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC),.Hudu Yunusa Ari, currently in hiding, has insisted without evidence that Aisha Binani won the 2023 governorship election in Adamawa, according to a letter he sent to the nation’s top security agencies.
In the lengthy message received at the Force Headquarters on April 20, copied also to the Director General of the State Security Service (SSS), National Security Adviser (NSA) and the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ari asserted that the two national commissioners, Baba Bila and Abdullahi Zuru, who had been tasked to assist him with the supplementary election on April 15, were secretly working with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the results.
Yunusa Ari has been on the run since April 16, minutes after he suddenly declared Mrs Ahmed winner, while collation in the supplementary exercise was still underway.
The INEC chief did not present any evidence to support his declaration, which he appeared to have made offhand. He was seen later that day leaving the state in a chartered flight and has not been seen ever since.
Mr Ari defended his actions to be well within his rights as contained in the Electoral Act 2022.
“I want to categorically say that my action is within the responsibility vested on me and within the ambit law, particularly of the Electoral Act 2022 as amended.”
In the letter, Mr Yunusa Ari reaffirmed his position as the chief collation officer but did not say he had the powers to declare a winner, which is reserved for the returning officer.
A spokesman for Mr Fintiri strongly denied the allegations that the governor bribed electoral chiefs. INEC did not comment on the allegations of bribery raised by Mr Yunusa Ari against Messrs Bila and Zuru.
At least seven aides to the governor were arrested for their involvement in the attack on the SSS agent, who was said to be an assistant director, The Gazette learnt. It was not immediately clear whether some or all of them have been released as of Wednesday morning.