Adamawa people are still waiting for the final word of the Independent National Electoral Commission over the declaration of Sen. Aishatu Binani, as the governor-elect, following the supplementary election held on Saturday in the State.
Mr Hudu Yunusa, the Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), announced Binani, candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), as winner, throwing the state into some confusion.
Collation of results was still ongoing at the INEC collation centre in Yola, when Yunuusa made the announcement.
According to him, Binani scored the highest number of votes, hence his decision to declare her as the winner.
Yunusa, however, did not provide the data or the results with which she won the election.
“The APC scored the highest votes. Going by that Aishatu Binani is hereby declared as the elected governor of Adamawa State,” he said.
Binani had since gone ahead to make a victory speech.
Dr Aliyu Idi Hong, the agent of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the collation centre, described the declaration as baseless and non-binding.
He said only a Returning Officer and not the REC has the powers under the Electoral Act to declare results.
“We call on INEC to hasten sanctioning the Resident Electoral Commissioner for causing deliberate infraction” Hong said.
INEC headquarters waded in and pronounced the declaration as null and void and suspended collation of the results indefinitely.
English