- Safiu Kehinde
Sacked Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari, has opened up on the controversial 2023 governorship election where he declared he declared the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Aishatu Binani, as the winner of the election.
The election result would be challenged and upturned moments later to declare the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate, Ahmadu Fintiri, as the winner.
While this denied Nigeria an historical moment to have the first ever female governor, the election also cost Yunusa-Ari, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) REC of the state, his position as his dismissal was last week approved by the National Assembly.
Addressing journalists on Sunday, Yunusa-Ari reaffirmed that Binani had won the election.
He insisted that he has evidence proving that Binani defeated the incumbent governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, of the PDP.
“I can even announce it now. She won the election against Fintiri
According to him, INEC ICT head in Adamawa, Bala Haji, engaged in unethical practices, including allegedly handing over thousands of documents to the governor.
He surrendered INEC documents over 20,000 copies. And not only that, Bala Haji misappropriated some of our BVAS. He took them somewhere. On the day of election, Bala Haji, the ICT head, he was dashing those handling the BVAS. He giving them money in foreign currency.
The dismissed REC slammed INEC for not granting him fair hearing as he insisted that he has sufficient evidence to justify his action.