By Musa Baba Adamu
The All Progressives Congress, (APC), and its candidate in the March 18, 2023 governorship election in Adamawa State, Senator Aisha Dahiru Binani on Wednesday failed in their bid to unseat Governor Ahmadu Fintiri at the Supreme Court.
The apex court, in its final judgment on the Adamawa gubernatorial legal battle, dismissed Binani’s petition in its entirety for lacking evidence and substance.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice John Inyang Okoro, the Supreme Court held that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who pronounced Binani winner of the governorship election, engaged in a serious act of criminality and irresponsibility.
Justice Okoro said that Binani engaged in self deceit by hanging to the unlawful and unconstitutional acts of the REC to hold herself out as winner of the governorship poll.
The apex court emphatically held that the REC had no power under any known law to declare election results as he did in the Adamawa governorship election.
Justice Okoro maintained that the only person vested with the powers to make declaration on elections is the Returning Officer.
He warned public officers to always act within the law in the discharge of responsibilities and not get carried away by greed.
Justice Okoro subsequently dismissed Binani’s petition and upheld the concurrent findings of the Adamawa State Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal which had earlier dismissed the petition by Binani and the APC.
