The Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission will face a disciplinary panel following his usurpation of the role of the Returning Officer for Saturday’s governorship vote.
The Returning Officer (RO) was to announce the result of the state’s supplementary election at 11 am on Sunday but the REC, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, appeared at the INEC office in Yola at 9 am and declared Senator Aishatu Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, as the winner of the election.
The declaration was made as the collation of results from the 11 local government areas where reruns were held was ongoing.
Before the illegal declaration, Binani was trailing Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party, who was leading her in the vote count with a 31,249 vote margin.
Fintiri had polled 421,524 votes ahead of Binani’s 390,275 votes in the initial election that took place on 18 March.
But he wasn’t declared the winner because the margin of his lead was less than the number of canceled votes in 69 polling units.
Ari’s illegal declaration was quickly nullified by INEC which summoned him and other officials to Abuja.
He is expected to face a panel this week and risks 36 months in jail.
