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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, to immediately order the arrest of the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Adamawa State, Hudu Ari, for declaring illegal results of the supplementary governorship election in the state.
The National Publicly Secretary of PDP, Debo Ologunagba, made the call in a statement shortly after the declaration of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aisha Dahiru, popularly called Binani, as the winner of the election.
Mr Ari declared the APC candidate winner on Sunday at the coalition centre in Yola, the state capital.
Observers and party agents who witnessed the declaration alleged that it was made while the results of the election had not been completely collated.
Also, the electoral law states that the winner of an election should be declared by the returning officer who is usually an academic appointed by INEC.
But, Mr Ari usurped the duties and powers of the State Returning Officer, Mohammed Mele, a professor at the University of Maiduguri.
Mr Ologunagba said the action was a planned attempt to destabilise democracy and the peaceful co-existence of the country.
He, therefore, urged the IGP to ensure that the Adamawa REC “face the full wrath of the law for his conduct.”
“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) calls on the people of Adamawa State, Nigerians and the International Community to disregard the purported declaration of the defeated candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aisha Binani as winner of the Adamawa State Governorship election,” he said.
“The PDP also demands for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari, for making such illegal declaration in criminal usurpation of the duties and powers of the Returning Officer, Prof Mohammed Mele, while collation was on-going.”
The PDP spokesperson said it was absurd that Mr Ari declared Mrs Dahiru without figures, adding that it was a violation of the country’s constitution.
“It is even more absurd that the Adamawa State REC did not only usurp the powers of the Returning Officer but attempted to declare a winner without figures in reckless violation of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, INEC Guidelines as well as the sensibility of the people of Adamawa State.
“This reprehensible criminal conduct of the Adamawa State REC confirms the earlier alarms by the PDP which demanded his immediate removal from Adamawa State following evidence of his complicity and being compromised by the APC and its candidate to manipulate the election in their favour notwithstanding the votes by the people of Adamawa State.
“Mallam Yunusa Ari’s action is subversive and calculated to cause crisis in Adamawa State, destabilise our democracy and peaceful co-existence as a nation. We call on the Inspector General of Police to immediately arrest Mallam Yunusa Ari and make him face the full wrath of the law for his conduct.”
Mr Ologunagba also urged the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, to immediately direct Mr Mele to continue the collation process.
“The PDP notes the pronouncement by INEC Headquarters that the action of Mallam Yunusa Ari is “null, void and of no effect”. The PDP, therefore, demands that INEC Headquarters should immediately direct the Returning Officer to conclude collation, announce the results from the Polling Units and declare our candidate, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri as winner, having scored the majority of lawful votes cast,” he said.
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“From the results already collated across the 69 Polling Units where the supplementary elections held and which are on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, Governor Fintiri clearly won the election,” he noted.
“Our party, therefore, demands that INEC should without further delay announce the results as already collated from the Polling Units and declare Governor Fintiri as winner. Anything short of this will not be accepted by our Party and the people of Adamawa State.”
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