This was done by the REC rather than the returning officer, as required by the Electoral Act.
The governorship race in Adamawa state has taken a sudden turn as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Aishatu Dahiru Binani, has been proclaimed the winner before the results have been collated.
Hudu Yunusa, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared Binani the winner even though the restart of the collation of results planned for 11 a.m. on Sunday had yet to begin.
This was done by the REC rather than the returning officer, as required by the Electoral Act.
He cast 221,303 votes for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate and current governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.
Fintiri’s results show a 50% decrease from his initial vote total of over 400,000.
On March 20, 2023, SaharaReporters announced that the Adamawa State governorship election had been ruled inconclusive, despite Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri’s lead of 421,524.
The returning officer, Prof Mohamed Mele, declared the election inconclusive since the cancelled ballots surpassed the margin of victory.
As collation began following the supplemental election on Saturday, the returning officer, Mele, deferred collation until 11:00 a.m. on Sunday after collating results from around ten local government districts.
But, as early as 9:00 a.m., the REC, in collaboration with the police commissioner, Mohammed Barde, Director of State Services and Commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, proclaimed Binani as the winner.
