Dramatic Adamawa Governor Election: Fintiri Named Winner by INEC

It was preceded by political intrigue before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) made its announcement at 5:49 PM on Tuesday.

The winner of what some may call a drama-filled supplemental election in Adamawa State, which took place exactly one month after the governorship elections on March 18, is Governor Ahmadu Fintiri.

In the rerun election held on last Saturday, Senator Aishatu “Binani” Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) came in second with 6,513 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Fintiri received 9,337 votes.

By collecting 430,861 votes overall, Fintiri defeated Binani, who received 398,738 votes, to win the election.

It was preceded by political intrigue before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) made its announcement at 5:49 PM on Tuesday.

An additional vote was planned for last Saturday after INEC pronounced the governorship election from earlier this month inconclusive.

Although collation was still in progress on Sunday, the state’s resident electoral commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa Ari, prematurely pronounced Binani the victor, in violation of the Electoral Act.

In the case of an election for governor of a state, Section 25 of the Electoral Act of 2022 only gives the returning officer the authority to proclaim the winner and announce the results at the state collation center.

Interestingly, only 10 of the 20 local government areas (LGAs) in the supplemental vote had results released, but those results showed Fintiri was ahead of Binani with wins in seven LGAs to three for Binani.

Ari made the announcement, and the APC candidate immediately gave an acceptance speech.

A national commissioner for INEC who was mistaken for the REC in response was assaulted by enraged opposition members who thought they were acting in the REC’s place.

“A senior person was carried while completely naked, including the former vice chancellor of Usman Dan Fodio University. Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, for INEC, issued a sharply worded statement that declared, “This commission will not permit that to stand.”

The security agencies were also urged by him to identify the perpetrators of that specific act.

They must be detained, the matter must be looked into, and legal action must be taken. It is not acceptable to treat a national commissioner like a normal criminal, he said.