Mustapha Lawal
Claim
Several platforms reported earlier this morning that amid controversy the Governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Senator Aishatu Dahiru (Binani) has been declared the winner of the Governorship election in the state.
Verdict
True! Senator Aisha Binani was declared winner in a controversial announcement by the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barrister Hudu Yunusa Ari early on Sunday morning. However, INEC announced the declaration is null and void while announcing a suspension of the collation process in a statement signed by its National Commissioner, Information and voter education.
Full Text
Several news and media platforms reported earlier this morning that amid controversies, the Governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Senator Aishatu Binani has been declared the winner of the Governorship election in the state.
Nigerian Tribune & Vanguard reported that Binani was declared the winner on Sunday morning by Barrister Hudu Yunusa Ari, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for the state, following the supplementary election held on Saturday.
However, Daily Post reported that the controversial declaration was made earlier than the scheduled time and even without the full result. “Earlier, results from 10 out of the 20 local government areas had been declared while the exercise was adjourned till 11 am. However, Ari announced the final result an hour before the scheduled time”, the reports state. The news report further said that “Some PDP supporters in the hall protested the announcement of Binani as the winner by the INEC REC.”
Also, ait. live reported via their Twitter handle in a now-deleted post on their blog that “Confusion trails Adamawa State Governorship supplementary election as Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari assumes the role of Returning Officer to announce Aishatu Ahmed Binani of the All Progressives Congress, the APC winner”.
Recall that, the Adamawa Govershipship Election, which took place alongside the general Nigeria Governorship election on March 18th 2023 was declared inconclusive.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that INEC declared the 18 March governorship election in the state inconclusive after it cancelled the election in 69 polling units in the state following reported incidents of violence and overvoting. After the first round of voting last month, Mr Fintiri led with 421,524 votes while Binani scored 390,275 votes, thus, trailing with 31,249 votes.
Verification
Checks by FactCheckElections revealed that the supplementary election result was declared truly amid controversy that ensued as reported by the different platforms. Video evidence was shared via the AIT Twitter page.
Also, INEC confirmed the news but announced the election process has not been concluded via a breaking news report on its official Twitter page signed by Barrister Festus Okoye, the National Commissioner, Information & Voter Education, INEC.
The signed statement read: “The attention of the Commission has been drawn to a purported declaration of a winner in the Adamawa Governorship election by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) even when the process has clearly not been concluded.”
INEC also stated that the declaration of Aishatu Binani is null and void while also suspending the collation of the Adamawa supplementary election results via the statement saying: “The action of the REC is a usurpation of the power of the Returning Officer. It is null, void and of no effect. Consequently, the collation of the results of the supplementary election is hereby suspended.”
The statement was concluded as: “The REC, Returning Officer and all involved are hereby invited to the Commission’s Headquarters in Abuja immediately.”
Conclusion
True! Senator Aisha Binani was declared winner in a controversial announcement by the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barrister Hudu Yunusa Ari early on Sunday morning. However, INEC announced the declaration is null and void while announcing a suspension of the collation process in a statement signed by its National Commissioner, Information and voter education.