INEC Suspends Adamawa REC as Binani Seeks Judicial Review of Her Announcement

•PDP gives commission 72 hours ultimatum to conclude rerun poll 

• Ari playing Yakubu’s script, Atiku’s aide alleges

• Party’s govs forum commends electoral body for nullifying ‘attempted coup’  

•Demands weeding out of partisan, corrupt INEC officials

•CSOs say REC, accomplices must be punished to deter others

Chuks Okocha, Alex Enumah, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Daji Sani in Yola

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, directed the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa Ari, to stay away from the commission’s office till further notice. The order followed growing political tensions in the aftermath of the state’s governorship election, which was suspended for the second time on Sunday after an uncompleted Saturday rerun.

The directive barring Ari from INEC’s office came as the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Adamawa State governorship election, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani, approached a Federal High Court in Abuja for leave to file an application for judicial review of the administrative decision of INEC made on April 16 in respect of her declaration as winner of the governorship election held on March 18 and the supplementary election of April 15.

But Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state gave INEC a 72-hour ultimatum to conclude the supplementary poll and declare the winner of the governorship election.

Relatedly, an aide of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu, accused the Adamawa State REC of acting the script of the INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.

PDP Governors’ Forum, in its own reaction, condemned what it described as the show of shame in Adamawa State. But the party commended INEC for nullifying Ari’s controversial declaration of Binani as winner of the Adamawa State governorship election. It called the announcement, which was made in usurpation of the powers of the state’s Returning Officer (RO), an “attempted coup”.

In a similar vein, a coalition of civil society groups called for the prosecution of Ari and his accomplices to serve as deterrent to future occurrences.

The directive to the Adamawa State REC was contained in a letter by Secretary to INEC, Mrs. Rose Oriran-Anthony, titled, “Commission’s Directive to Stay Away From INEC, Adamawa State,” dated April 17 and addressed to Ari.

The letter read, “I hereby convey the Commission’s decision that you (Barr. Hudu Yunusa Ari), Resident Electoral Commissioner, Adamawa State, should stay away from the Commission’s office in Adamawa State immediately until further notice.

“The Administrative Secretary has been directed to take full charge of INEC, Adamawa State, with immediate effect.

“Please, accept the assurances of the Commission’s warm regards.”

Ari had complicated the process of the Adamawa State governorship rerun poll, when on Sunday he announced the APC governorship candidate as winner of the election in the middle of results collation.

But INEC’s National Commissioner, and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, described the action of the REC as a usurpation of the powers of the RO. The commission, therefore, suspended the collation process and maintained that the declaration of Binani as winner of the election was null, void, and of no effect.

INEC also summoned the REC, RO, and others involved to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

However, Binani approached a Federal High Court in Abuja for leave to file an application for judicial review of INEC’s decision. The application for leave to bring the application for judicial review was contained in an ex parte application filed on April 17.

Besides, Binani, alongside her party, APC, is also seeking an order of Prohibition and Certiorari preventing the electoral umpire and its agents from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the winner of the election, pending the determination of her application for judicial review.

Sued with the commission were PDP and its governorship candidate, Ahmadu Fintiri, listed as first, second, and third defendants, respectively.

The application was brought pursuant to order 34 Rules 1a, order 3(1) and 3(2) a, b, c, Order 6 of the Federal High Court (civil procedure rules) 2019, and Section 251 (1)q and r of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Section 149 and 152 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

In the grounds upon which the application was brought, the senator argued, “The only court with power on a declaration made from the conduct of an election is only the election petition tribunal set up by the 1999 Constitution.”

The APC candidate maintained that after the completion of vote in the supplementary governorship election of April 15, and the subsequent collation of same results, INEC declared her as the winner of the governorship election, and she was thereby returned as elected.

The applicant said pursuant to the declaration, any dissatisfied candidate ought to resort to the tribunal for redress, if any.

She faulted the cancellation of her declaration on April 16, based on some crisis caused by PDP and Fintiri, stressing that INEC “has no powers to cancel or declare the declaration as been made as null and void”.

The applicants added, “INEC after the declaration of Senator Aisha Dahiru Ahmed as the winner usurped the powers of the Election Petition Tribunal and declared the declaration null and void.

“The first respondent does not have the requisite powers to declare an election in which the winner has been declared null and void.”

Binani, through her lawyers led by Hussaini Zakariyau, SAN, submitted that a judicial review existed to enable the superior court checkmate the actions and decisions of inferior courts as well as the legislative and administrative arms of government, including agencies and public officers.

The applicant further submits that INEC being an agency of the government can have its actions, records and decisions checked by the court and only a court can nullify the actions of an INEC official and not INEC itself.

But the PDP spokesman, Mr. Felix Tangwami, who led a peaceful protest march to INEC office in Yola, said the party and its supporters had been pushed to the wall in the delay of the supplementary poll.

The protesters carried placards bearing inscriptions, such as, “enough of supplementary saga”, “INEC declare the Adamawa governorship results now or never”, “we can no longer wait”, and “Adamawa REC must go”.

They said PDP supporters would be forced to take any decisive action after the expiration of the ultimatum.

Tangwami accused the REC of being partisan in the decision to announce the APC candidate winner of the election, even as the process of election was still on-going.

The protesters marched peacefully through some of the major streets of Yola, the state capital. They noted with regret the long process of the supplementary election, adding that they would not sit back and watch some desperate politicians take power from them.

Shaibu, on his part, insisted that Ari’s actions were not different from what Yakubu did during the presidential poll. He said the national leadership of INEC could not pretend to be unaware of the many allegations hanging on the neck of the Adamawa State REC, adding that his suspension without arrest and prosecution is merely a slap on the wrist.

Shaibu stated, “It is crystal clear even to the blind that the Adamawa REC learnt well from the INEC chairman. INEC, as an organisation, from the top to the bottom is akin to Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. As a matter of fact, the baby goat learns to eat grass by diligently watching the mama devour the lush grass around them.

“Over a month ago, Sahara Reporters published an audio clip, where the Adamawa REC was heard directing an election official, Hammajam Mohammed, to rig the governorship election in favour of Binani.

“In the leaked audio, Yunusa told Mohammed to do everything humanly possible to make Binani win. He told the electoral official that he was instructed by a higher authority to make Binani win. Governor Ahmadu Fintiri complained severally about the compromised REC but INEC did nothing about it.

“Despite having over one month to prepare for this supplementary poll, INEC retained this compromised REC, who went ahead to undermine the election once more. From all that has happened, it is obvious that Yunusa-Ari was acting on orders from above and that was why Governor Ahmadu Fintiri’s warnings were ignored.

“This carefully orchestrated action is a reflection of the electoral heist of February 25, 2023, when the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, decided to announce Bola Tinubu of the APC as winner despite the many irregularities and complaints from several opposition parties. Indeed, Yunusa-Ari acted like his father and boss, Mahmood Yakubu.”

Similarly, the coalition of civil society organisations, which requested that the REC and others must be punished, called for the public transmission of all election tribunal proceedings to ensure transparency and public participation through their comments.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, Lead Director of Speak Out Africa Initiative, Kenneth Eze, said what happened in the Adamawa State supplementary governorship election was despicable, adding that there must be consequences to avoid a repeat of such public shame.

Eze stated, “What happened is a public shame. It shows the rot in the election management body. The REC did not act alone. Look at the video clips. You will see the REC surrounded by the Commissioner of Police and the Director of the State Security Service. This shows that the system is in support of what happened.

“What happened is that the INEC headquarters cannot give what it does not have. It is like the goat chewing cord and the small ones watching. The INEC chairman did his own in Abuja and the REC did his in Yola. So, who do you blame.

“So, we are worried and to us, civil society groups, there must be consequences. Else, it will happen again. We recommend that all of them should be prosecuted to serve as a lesson to others, who may have the same plan in subsequent elections.”

The civil society groups announced a FixJustice.NG project, dedicated to garnering support for the judiciary in rebuilding trust and confidence on the part of the citizens towards the courts.

Eze said public trust and confidence in government institutions were critical to the functioning of any democratic republic, but that of the courts and judiciary was a central tenet of the rule of law and was often seen as the oxygen for any democracy that wanted to thrive, hence, its description as the “last hope of common man”.

According to Eze, “Among current raging controversy, it is important we emphasise that judiciary is part of the democracy and by extension the electoral process, and never an interloper, as some misconstrued.

“Though the electoral umpire, INEC, did the first part, which many believed fell below expectations and known standards, the remaining part of the 2023 election task now rests with the judiciary and we are confident to say that the right thing shall be done.”

Meanwhile, PDP Governors’ Forum condemned what it called the show of shame in Adamawa State.

In a statement by Director General of the PDP Governors Forum, Cyril Maduabum, the governors said the attempted electoral heist and brigandage perpetrated by the Adamawa State REC were, perhaps, the lowest point of the 2023 general election.

The PDP governors said, “We commend the immediate steps taken by the INEC as an institution to recover its battered image by nullifying the attempted coup and suspending the REC.”

The opposition party’s governors stressed that the appropriate RO, Mele Lamido, should immediately conclude the collation and declare the result.

They added, “One of the most important lessons of this election season is that the integrity of INEC personnel is crucial to free, fair, and credible elections as well as deployment of technology.

“Going forward, there should be a deliberate process of revisiting the appointments of National and Resident Electoral Commissioners to weed out corrupt and extremely partisan officials. It is the partisan method of appointment of these officials that led to national disgrace in Adamawa State.

“Appropriate sanctions, including prosecution of all those involved, especially the former Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barrister Hudu Yunusa, should be swiftly commenced to serve as an example to others.”

The governors enjoined all Nigerians to be on the alert as the country braced up to emerging threats to its democracy and the struggle for good governance in the country.