DAILY POST
It was an unprecedented moment on Sunday when Senator Aisha Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, was declared the winner of the Adamawa State gubernatorial election.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Barrister Hudu Yunusa, shocked the nation with what many had described as a coup when he usurped the power of the Returning Officer to declare Binani, winner of the State guber election.
Recall that a supplementary election was conducted in 69 polling units in Adamawa on Saturday in places it was not held during the March 18 gubernatorial election.
Prior to her declaration, Binani was trailing behind Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party, who had maintained a margin of 31,249 votes. Fintiri scored 421, 524 votes ahead of Binani, who polled 390, 275 votes before Saturday’s supplementary poll.
With 10 local government areas collated, the exercise was adjourned till 11 am on Sunday.
But as early as 9 am, the REC appeared, with a cover provided by the commissioner of police and announced Binani the winner of the election without any figures.
The Electoral Act mandates the Returning Officer, not REC, to announce such results.
While reacting to the development, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, denounced the purported declaration of Binani as the winner…
