Tension grips Adamawa over rerun elections results after REC declared Binani winner

From Umar Dankano,Yola.

Palpable tension and uncertainty is gripping Adamawa state over the controversial announcement of Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani as Governor -elect in the state by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barrister Hudu

Yunusa Ari.

Hudu had come into the collation centre around 9:00am Sunday morning instead of the scheduled 11:00am to do declare Senator Binana winner having scored the highest number of votes in the rerun election.

Hudu announced that Incumbent Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of PDP polled 221,303 votes saying Senator Binani of the APC got the highest votes without quoting any figure as her score.

Hudu being flanked by the visiting commissioner of police, Director, state security Directorate, DSS and the state Commandant, NSCDC while reading the result was openly challenged by few party agents present at the collation centre.

Reacting to the development, party agent of the PDP and former minister of Health, Dr. Idi Hong described it as “unacceptable impunity ” merted out on democracy in Adamawa state.”

Hong addressing press at the collation centre said the electoral act and Nigerian laws have defined the officials that should handle election matters saying REC Hudu is not the right man to do the job rather returning officer sent by INEC who is Professor Mohammed Mele

Our correspondent repoerted that as of 1:00am Saturday night, results from ten local government areas collated has shown PDP had 9,145 votes while APC got 6,339 then it officially announced collation of results continues Sunday morning by 11:00am.

Recall that the Adamawa state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has been enveloped with tension and anxiety as journalists were denied access to the state collation centre.

Disagreement ensued Saturday afternoon when members of the correspondents chapel were blocked by the gate of the commission along Galadima Aminu way by stern looking security personnel including mobile police, NSCDC and others in plain clothes insisting that “It was an order from above “.

There was palpable apprehension across the state as news filtered in that there were behind the scene moves by some elements to undermine the electoral process.

This has led to series of protests by the Governorship campaign office of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which vowed to resist any attempt to undermine or doctor the guvernorship result.

The belief was even buoyed by a viral audio clip in which the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) was heard instructing the returning officer of Fufoure LG, Dr. Bashir Daneji to favour the only female candidate in the election.

The electoral umpire later declared the result of the polls inconclusive despite the wide margin of over 31,000 votes between Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri and his challenger, Sen Aishatu Dahiru Binani.

Effort to talk to the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC. Hudu Yunusa Ari were not fruitful as several calls put through his mobile phone were not answered as at the time of filling in this report.

However a unanimous source at the commission told journalists that the returning officers of INEC are still ensconced in the state headquarters of the electoral umpire although the information could not be independently verified.