Adamawa election: Suspended REC Yunusa Ari breaks his silence, saying, “I was under pressure.”
Hudu Yunusa Ari, the suspended resident electoral commissioner, claimed he had to proclaim Aishatu Dahiru, also known as Binani of the All Progressives Congress, the winner under pressure from the security forces, weeks after the controversy surrounding the governorship election in Adamawa.
Recall that Yunusa Ari was suspended by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for violating the Electoral Act by declaring Binani the winner in an unconstitutional manner.
But after following the correct procedures, INEC entered the fray and proclaimed Ahmadu Fintiri of the People’s Democratic Party the legitimate winner of the Adamawa State election.
With 430,861 votes, Fintiri defeated Binani of the APC.
The Inspector General of Police and other required security agencies were tasked by INEC with investigating and prosecuting Yunusa Ari.
Yunusa Ari hasn’t been heard from or seen since the end of the tale; his most recent letter to the Inspector General of Police was the first to come to light.
He gave an explanation of how he followed the law.
He said that the copies he signed and uploaded to the Result Viewing (IReV) portal did not match the results that the INEC Collation Officer was about to announce.
He said that attempts were made to replace him with his secretary and that, on April 15, 2023, the two national commissioners were present at Yola’s Government House at 8:31 p.m.
“I combined all the polling unit results based on this,” he said, “and proclaimed the election victor based on the highest number of valid votes received by the candidate of the APC.
“Using the results from the polling units as collated into all relevant forms EC8B, C, D, and E by properly and legally appointed and recognized collation officers and my humble self as the Adamawa State Chief Collation Officer and Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), I had the breakdown of the valid votes scored by the two leading candidates in the supplementary election.
“Before the declaration, an intelligence report was made available to me that stated the two national commissioners met with Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri at the Government House in Yola at 8:31 p.m. on April 15, 2023,”
In the meantime, INEC has refuted reports that its officials had met with Fintiri during the extra election.
