Adamawa guber: REC, Yunusa, risks jail as INEC writes Buhari, IGP

It was an unprecedented moment on Sunday when Senator Aisha
Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, was declared the winner of the Adamawa State
gubernatorial election.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Barrister Hudu
Yunusa, shocked the nation with what many had described as a coup when he
usurped the power of the Returning Officer to declare Binani, winner of the
State guber election.

Recall that a supplementary election was conducted in 69
polling units in Adamawa on Saturday in places it was not held during the March
18 gubernatorial election.

Prior to her declaration, Binani was trailing behind
Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party, who had maintained a
margin of 31,249 votes. Fintiri scored 421, 524 votes ahead of Binani, who
polled 390, 275 votes before Saturday’s supplementary poll.

The Commission also wrote the REC ordering him to steer
clear from its office in Yola, Adamawa State.

In a letter dated April 17, 2023, by its Secretary, Rose
Oriaran-Anthony, the INEC directed its Administrative Secretary in Adamawa to
take charge of its affairs.

In the aftermath of the illegal declaration, the
presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, in
a press release signed by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Sunday, demanded that
the controversial REC and other parties involved in the voided declaration
should be arrested and prosecuted in order to serve as a deterrent to
anti-democratic forces.

Also, the Centre for Democracy and Development described the
action of the REC as an insult to the Electoral Act and to the Commission.

The Executive Director of CDD, Idayat Hassan, in a statement
on Sunday, noted that the REC had illegally taken over the duties of the
Returning Officer, adding that the action was capable of “provoking the
breakdown of law and order in the state”, in light of the already tense
political atmosphere.

While speaking on the infamous conduct of the Adamawa REC, a
former Director, Voter Education and Publicity at INEC, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi,
stated that Yunusa ought to face a sort of ‘inquisition.’

Osaze-Uzzi spoke on Monday while fielding questions on Arise
Television’s Morning Show program. He noted that INEC could not discipline a
REC, stating that only the President acting on the resolution by the two-thirds
majority of the Senate can remove the REC, warning he might face jail time for
his action.

He said, “Ordinarily, for doing what he did, the REC ought
to face some kind of inquisition.

“However, INEC can inquire into what happened, and I am sure
they will do that. But in terms of discipline or removal, the President can do
that.

“Also, it is to be noted that any person who announces or
publishes an election result knowing the same to be false commits an offence
and is liable to imprisonment for 36 months under section 120(4) of the
Electoral Act, 2022.

“And under section 6(2) of the Act, the REC is answerable to
the Commission.”

Meanwhile, INEC said it would write the Inspector-General of
Police, Baba Ahmed, to investigate and prosecute Hudu Yunusa Ari, the REC for
Adamawa. The decision followed the outcome of Tuesday’s technical meeting
attended by the INEC’s national commissioners in Abuja.

The Commission also said it decided at the meeting to write
the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, to brief
President Muhammadu Buhari about the “unwholesome behaviour” of the REC.

At its meeting today, April 18 2023, the Commission
discussed matters arising from the Adamawa Governorship election and decided
to: “Write to the Inspector-General of Police for the immediate investigation
and possible prosecution of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for
Adamawa State, Barr. Hudu Yunusa Ari.

“Request the Secretary to the Government of the Federation
to draw the attention of the appointing authority to the unwholesome behaviour
of the REC for further action. The collation process shall resume at a time to
be determined by the Returning Officer.”

As the Adamawa debacle ensued, Binani added fresh drama to
it when she approached a Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the electoral
Commission from voiding the declaration that named her the state’s
governor-elect.

She asked the court for an order prohibiting INEC from
taking any steps further towards the declaration of the winner of the election
until the court determines her application for judicial review.

On his part, Fintiri had expressed confidence he would be
re-elected despite the controversy surrounding the gubernatorial election.

“I am not afraid of anything, whether the result will be
tampered with or whatever will happen to the result,” he said.

Eventually, the outcome of the polls ended in Fintiri’s
favour, with the Returning Officer declaring him as the winner of the election.

Speaking to DAILY POST in an interview, the President of the
Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), Olu Omotayo, said
what happened in Adamawa was new.

Omotayo, a legal expert, said INEC had the power to revert
what the REC did, though he would not want to preempt the court on the ex-parte
motion filed before it on the matter.

He said, “INEC has the power to revert what this man has
done; though I am not preempting what the court will say in what is filed
before it in the Federal High Court Abuja.

“He was not appointed as a returning officer, and he made
that declaration. But with what is on the ground now, do they actually have the
power now to overturn what this man has done? That is the question before the
Federal High Court in Abuja.

“Now that the woman has gone to the court, does the court
have the power? This is because there is a contention that collation is still
going on. Can INEC revert that declaration on the grounds that the REC lacked
authority?”

It is left to be seen the actions the security agencies
would take against the now suspended REC.