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– Mahmood Yakubu is Responsible for the Flop in Adamawa – Sen. Binos
– REC Has the Right to Declare Elections Results – Elder Tadawwus
By Billy Graham Abel, Yola
Adamawa state chapter of PDP has issued a 72 hours Ultimatum to INEC to resume collation and complete the process of the supplementary governorship election in the state.
PDP issued the ultimatum during a protest march to INEC headquarters in Yola following Sunday’s declaration by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa that the APC candidate , Aishatu Dahiru Binani won the March 18th governorship elections.
A Spokesman of the PDP, Felix Tangwami who led a protest match to INEC in Yola said the party and its supporters have been pushed to the wall over the prolonged delay of the supplementary saga.
The protesters who displayed various placards, reading “enough of supplementary saga,” “INEC declare the Adamawa governorship results now or never,” “Adamawa Rec must go” among others, said they could be forced to take any decisive action after the expiration of the ultimatum.
Reacting to the declaration of APC as winner of the elections the senator Representing southern Adamawa, Binos Dauda Yaroe, blames Mahmood Yakubu for deliberately causing the confusion and attempting to throw Adamawa into state of confusion and chaos.
Binos said, “The sad event of yesterday, Sunday April 16th, 2023 calls for any responsible leader of conscience to take a stand and speak out in the interest of peace and justice.
“Sequel to the Governorship election of March 18th, it is public knowledge, that the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Malam Yunusa Hudu Ari, was caught on tape, directing the INEC Collation Officer in Fufore Local Government Area, to “taimaki matan nan” meaning help that woman. Malam Hudu, the REC, was subsequently interviewed on camera by journalists accredited to cover the elections, and he admitted to speaking to the Fufore INEC Returning Officer, affirming to giving that directive.
“Interested parties raised alarm and called for the replacement of the REC, but INEC ignored this open display of partisanship by its high-ranking official.
“In my considered opinion, INEC and its National Chairman Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu are complicit, and part and parcel of this grand conspiracy against the peace loving people of Adamawa State.
“INEC needs to urgently take steps to repair its damaged reputation by handing over Malam Hudu for thorough investigation and subsequent prosecution for attempting to cause an insurrection in Adamawa State.
“INEC should also, after listening to its officials summoned to Abuja, direct them to return to Adamawa a complete the collation of the outstanding ng results, and declare the winner without delay.
“Yesterday, a major confrontation in Mayo Belwa town laced with ethnic and religious undertones was averted by the timely intervention of the DPO and Operation Farauta personnel. The fragile peace we have been enjoying in the state must not be truncated.
“I am making this call in my capacity as the Senator representing Adamawa South Senatorial District comprising 9 of the 21 Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, who actively and painstakingly took part in the just concluded supplementary election on Saturday, April 15th, 2023.”
Nigeria’s former Minister of health and PDP’s governorship Returning Officer, Dr. Idi Aliyu Hong, said a major disaster was averted by INEC for quickly cancelling Hudu’s rebellious acts.
Idi Hong said, “We have said it right from the beginning of this exercise, that we have lost confidence in the REC, we wrote an official letter to INEC to that effect, and demanded to have him removed but INEC in its wisdom found it appropriate to returning him may be to conclude the process he has started.
“But from the onset of the rerun, he has already started frustrating the process. The reruns were supposed to hold in just 69 polling units, we had conducted elections in over 4000 polling units but surprisingly some Polling units did not get elections materials on time until much later in the day.
“We gathered he was also giving different instructions contrary to INEC guidelines demanding that the local governments returning officers should not collate results at ward level but that instead they should to him straight and demanding that they come to his residence for some corrections instead before going to the collation center.
“So, he was already poised from the onset to disturb the peace of the state.
“Although I learnt that some electoral officials were maltreated in the state, that is regrettable. Everyone who knows Adamawa, that it has no history of condoning violence, but the REC has stretched the tempers of some people who might have been aggrieved in such despicable manner.
Hong adds that, “We thank INEC for stepping in to arrest the situation and letting the whole world know that the Hudu did not follow due process and that INEC laws and guidelines have been violated. We are calling on INEC to quickly set a date to resume and conclude this process because elections have been concluded in all the 20 LGAs and the 69 polling units.
“We are also appealing to Adamawa indigenes to remain calm and law abiding since INEC has arrested the situation.”
Addressing newsmen in at a press briefing, the acting chairman of APC in Adamawa, Samaila Taddawus, said the party is concerned by the negative propaganda by PDP who are the losers in the elections.
Taddawus said, “However, we are concerned with the negative propaganda by the losers of this election. Some of them are:
“That the REC was bribed to make the declaration. This is a blatant lie. Our candidate was popular and did not require the manipulation of the process to win the election. Those who needed to manipulate the process are the ones who wanted the REC to be illegally suspended by two National Commissioners on an observer duty.
i”We are also aware that the molestation of the National Commissioners was done by Agents of the State Government.
“Hired thugs were used to molest one of them to the point that he was stripped half naked. Shamelessly, one of the agents of the state Government was seen apologizing to the affected person and claiming that they molested him thinking he was the REC.
“We condemn the weaponization of violence by the opposition. This is seen by their so-called daily protest which is a harbinger for violence. We call on security agencies to as a matter of urgency stop these misguided agitators who are bent on throwing the state into choas.
“We wish to also express sincere appreciation to the people of the state for shunning their call for violence. We in the APC are peaceful and peace loving. We will continue to promote peace in the state because we believe that nothing can be achieved without peace.
Let me state clearly that the APC and all our members in Adamawa state are solidly behind our Governor-elect and wish to announce that we will protect our mandate by all legal means.
“We call on INEC to abide by the legal requirements that provides for only the Tribunal or the courts to upturn a valid and lawful declaration.”
“The REC has absolute responsibility for state elections The returning officers for Governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections report to him.
“Arguing that the REC cannot do what he did in the circumstances he found himself is a loosing argument,” the APC chieftain maintains.
Since the declaration of the APC candidate as winner of Adamawa governorship elections, tension has been building as both sides of the political devides continue to trade arguments, that has ended up deepening the crisis with INEC’s credibility hanging in the balance.
It remains to be seen how this dilemma would be resolved moving forward from the declaration that INEC itself denounce as legal.
