Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the resident electoral commissioner for Adamawa State, was told to avoid the commission’s state headquarters on Monday by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The basis for INEC’s move was Yunusa-statement Ari’s that Aisha Dahiru, better known by her stage name Binani, was the winner of the All Progressives Congress’ supplemental election for governor on Saturday.
Also, the commission prohibited the REC from visiting the office in a letter that was signed by Rose Oriaran-Anthony, the commission’s secretary.
The Peoples Democratic Party governors demanded his prosecution on Monday as condemnation of the REC’s actions grew.
However on Monday, Binani filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja asking for an order to stop INEC and its representatives from proceeding with the declaration of the election’s winner while her legal matter is still unresolved.
While the results were being tallied, Yunusa-Ari declared Binani the winner of the additional elections, confusing the state and raising alarm across the nation.
Before the results were announced, Binani was behind PDP Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, who had a lead of 31,249 votes.
Before to Binani, who received 390, 275 votes, Fintiri had received 421, 524 votes.
The state returning officer, Professor Mohammed Mele of the Department of English and Linguistics, University of Maiduguri, Borni State, was unable to declare Fintiri the winner of the March 18 governorship election, though, because the margin of victory did not exceed the number of invalid votes in 69 polling places.
Opposition parties and former INEC national commissioners criticized Yunusa-move Ari’s as unusual, and some Nigerians claimed the incident illustrated the irregularity of the general elections.
But the INEC overturned the decision and summoned the REC, who had assumed the returning officer’s responsibilities, and other officials to Abuja.
But, due to the ongoing aviation workers’ strike, which has shut down airport operations countrywide, the troubled REC and his colleagues were unable to appear before a committee of the commission in Abuja on Monday.
It was learned that the airline strike also had an impact on all of the INEC national commissioners who would make up the committee since they were unable to book return flights to Abuja.
It was discovered that senior INEC officials who had taken part in the rerun elections in several states were traveling back by road and were scheduled to arrive at the INEC headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday (today).
But, Oriaran-Anthony noted in a letter he sent to Yunusa-Ari on April 17, 2023, that the administrative secretary of the commission in Adamawa State had been instructed to take over the INEC headquarters in the state.
The letter read, “I hereby convey the commission’s decision that you (Barrister 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.”