PDP: Conduct of Adamawa REC justifies our earlier demand for his removal

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the arrest of and prosecution of Hudu Yunusa-Ari, resident electoral commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Adamawa. 

TheCable had reported how Ari declared Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the governorship election in Adamawa while the collation of results was yet to be concluded.

The 2022 electoral act empowers only the returning officer appointed by INEC to declare and announce the winner in an election.

Mele Lamido is the returning officer for the governorship election in Adamawa. INEC has issued a statement declaring the announcement as “null and void”.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Debo Ologunagba, PDP spokesperson, said Yunusa-Ari’s action justified the earlier demand that he should be removed as the REC in Adamawa.

“The PDP demands the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari, for making such an illegal declaration in a criminal usurpation of the duties and powers of the Returning Officer, Prof Mohammed Mele, while collation was on-going,” the statement reads.

“It is even more absurd that the Adamawa State REC did not only usurp the powers of the Returning Officer but attempted to declare a winner without figures in reckless violation of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, INEC Guidelines as well as the sensibility of the people of Adamawa State.

“This reprehensible criminal conduct of the Adamawa State REC confirms the earlier alarms by the PDP which demanded his immediate removal from Adamawa State following evidence of his complicity and being compromised by the APC and its candidate to manipulate the election in their favour notwithstanding the votes by the people of Adamawa State.

“Mallam Yunusa Ari’s action is subversive and calculated to cause crisis in Adamawa State, destabilize our democracy and peaceful co-existence as a nation. We call on the Inspector General of Police to immediately arrest Mallam Yunusa Ari and make him face the full wrath of the law for his conduct.”

The PDP asked INEC to “immediately” conclude the collation of results, adding that the results already collated across the 69 polling units where the supplementary elections were held and on the INEC result viewing (IReV) portal show that Ahmadu Fintiri won the poll.