Buhari Orders Immediate Suspension of Adamawa REC

*Directs IG Police to prosecute embattled officer if found liable, seeks investigation of DSS, NSCDC officials 

*Falana: Binani is culpable, should be investigated

*Insists her acceptance speech confirmed she was party to illegal announcement

*Urges NBC to sanction NTA for airing her acceptance speech
*INEC denies allegation of partisanship, maintains its officials didn’t meet with any candidate

Chuks Okocha, Olawale Ajimotokan and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Ripples of the supplementary governorship election in Adamawa State yesterday as President Muhammadu Buhari approved the immediate suspension of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Adamawa State, Hudu Yunusa Ari, pending the completion of investigation by the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, on the conduct/actions of the embattled REC during the supplementary election in Adamawa State held on Saturday.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, disclosed this in a statement.

This was just as human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, yesterday said the police inquest into the governorship supplementary debacle in Adamawa state should be extended to the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru.
In a related development, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday denied allegations of partisanship in the recently conducted Adamawa Supplementary Elections.

In a rather depressing point of electoral rascality widely seen as more disappointing than any situation in the past, Ari, INEC’s REC for Adamawa State, had in the early hours of last Sunday, declared Binani as winner of the state governorship election, when collation had not been concluded.
But INEC reversed the purported declaration few hours later.
The Commission had said the action of the REC was a move to usurp the power of the Returning Officer and had declared the declaration null, void and of no effect.

Ahmadu Finitiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was  later declared the winner of the election.
Binani also dismissed reports that she had offered the sum of N2 billion as bribe to an official to be declared winner of the election.
Afterwards, INEC had written to the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Baba Alkali to investigate Ari for possible prosecution and Alkali on his part had ordered for the replacement of the Commissioner of Police on election duty in Adamawa State, Mohammed Barde.
However, the statement announcing the suspension of Ari, was signed by the Director, Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of Federation, Willie Bassey.

It further alluded that the President has directed the immediate investigation and prosecution, of Ari  by the Inspector General of Police if found liable.
In addition, the statement also said Buhari also directed the investigation by the Inspector General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), of the role of their officers in aiding and abetting the conduct/actions of Ari.

He directed that appropriate disciplinary actions be meted out to them if found culpable,
On his part, Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the police inquest into the matter should be to Binani.
He explained that the mere fact that she went on to deliver an acceptance speech confirmed that she was in on the illegal declaration and therefore culpable.
Falana also called on the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission to sanction the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) for airing the fake declaration.

The human right lawyer who spoke on a television programme monitored in Abuja said, “With respect to the acceptance speech, it already confirmed that she was party to the charade. She has to be brought in by the police and investigated.”
He stated further, “How did you prepare a speech if you did not know that you were going to be declared the winner because, at that stage, the collation had not been concluded?
“The last point is the role of the NTA. The NTA televised the acceptance speech. I expect the NBC to move in speedily and sanction the NTA because, at that time, collation was still ongoing.”

Meanwhile, INEC has denied allegations of partisanship in the recently conducted Adamawa Supplementary Elections.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye in a statement issued yesterday, said there was no discreet nocturnal meeting between its officials and any governorship candidate.
He said: “The attention of the Commission has been drawn to a press statement by a candidate in the recently concluded Adamawa State Governorship election in which officials deployed for legitimate duty in the State were alleged to have undermined the electoral process after a discreet “nocturnal” visit to the Government House and ostensibly met with one of the candidates in the election who gave them a list of “collation and returning officers” deployed for the election.”

Okoye stressed that ordinarily, the Commission does not join issues with partisan actors, particularly where no evidence has been provided, but stated categorically that there was no such meeting  
He added: “To set the record straight, no such visit or meeting took place let alone the compilation of any purported list of collation and returning officers. Such a meeting would have been contrary to the oath of neutrality that we all swore to.”
The National Commissioner noted that every conscientious observer would have noticed that the Commission appointed and retained only one Returning Officer for the Governorship election who also doubled as the State Collation Officer for the Presidential Election (SCOPE).
He explained that like all Returning Officers nationwide, he was issued with a letter of appointment by the Commission and the REC in Adamawa State was duly informed.

Okoye added that the list of Collation Officers was also forwarded to the state with every page of the list personally endorsed by the Chairman of the Commission well ahead of the arrival of the National Commissioners.
He emphasised that the same press statement created the impression that the national headquarters of the Commission specifically targeted Adamawa State in its deployment of National Commissioners and other officials with the sole intention of influencing the outcome of the supplementary election held on Saturday 25th April, 2023 and sidelining the REC, saying nothing could be further from the truth.

Okoye said for the record, it has been the standard policy and practice of the Commission to deploy National Commissioners, RECs and other staff from the headquarters or neighbouring States for supplementary or off-cycle elections where doing so was considered necessary.
He stressed that in the case of Adamawa State where supplementary governorship election was held in 69 polling units, two National Commissioners were deployed, while for Kebbi State involving 142 polling units, three National Commissioners were deployed.
Okoye noted: “Similarly, one National Commissioner each was deployed to Sokoto, Zamfara, Imo, Rivers, Ekiti and Ogun States. This has been the standard practice of the Commission of which all RECs are informed in advance.

“Therefore, Adamawa State was not specifically targeted. In all other States, the RECs worked cooperatively with the National Commissioners except in Adamawa State for reasons that are now obvious to all.”
The commission advised the public to discountenance the insinuations as nothing more than a claptrap.
The electoral body also advised those behind the mischief to desist forthwith as such fabrications have endangered the lives of its officials – both ad hoc and regular engaged in legitimate election duties.
The commission said its expected well-meaning citizens to act within the bounds of propriety and decency.