The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Adamawa Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP dismissing the appeal filed by Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani of the All Progressives Congress, APC. The five-member panel of Justices led by Inyang Okoro in a unanimous decision, held that the appeal by Binani lacked merit.
The court condemned the actions of the suspended State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Hudu Yunusa-Ari who announced Binani as the winner of the April 16 supplementary elections, stating that his action is an act of “irresponsibility and criminality”.
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The apex court while noting that the REC is not competent to have announced the result, held that it is only the Returning Officer that has the right to announce election result, citing Section 149 of the 2022 Electoral Act.
The court noted that Section 149 of the 2022 Electoral Act will only apply if the action taken is in accordance with the law, as officials who were deployed during the election were expected to carry out their duties within their scope of responsibility.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
