The controversial governorship election in Adamawa State was eventually concluded on Tuesday, April 18 with Governor Ahmadu Fintiri who was vying for a second term, declared winner of the election by the Returning Officer, Mohammed Mele. In the supplementary governorship election of April 15 in the State, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Adamawa State further threw the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disrepute by forcefully and unilaterally pronouncing a candidate as winner in the supplementary elections conducted to conclude the Adamawa State Governorship election. While election results were still being awaited, the REC, Hudu Yunusa Ari quickly brought forward the time set for further announcement of election results from 11:00 am to 9:00 am on Sunday, April 16. Without receiving any of the results being awaited or providing figures justifying the announcement, he pronounced Senator Aisha Dahiru (aka Binani), candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the election. Apparently embarrassed by this public show of impunity, INEC’s national headquarters has had to react by declaring the announcement of its REC as unconstitutional and unlawful and proceeded to suspend him from duties at its Yola office while the Administrative Secretary of the Commission in the State takes over its affairs. In its latest statement on the matter, issued on April 18, INEC expressed its decision to write to the Inspector General of Police, to commence investigation and possible prosecution of the REC, as well as request the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to draw the President’s attention to the conduct of the REC.
Under the Electoral Act, only the Returning Officer appointed by INEC headquarters is authorised to declare the result of an election. Section 2(25)(f) of the Act stipulates that a Returning Officer shall announce the result and declare the winner in a governorship election while section 66 provides that in a governorship election, the candidate who fulfills the relevant constitutional provisions and scores the highest number of votes in an election will be declared elected by the Retuning Officer.
Also, two INEC National Commissioners deployed to Adamawa State on election duty were attacked by a mob in the State. Details of the incident are unclear. In a video that surfaced on social media, a man identified as one of the National Commissioners could be seen in the video stripped and bleeding from the nose.
In recent years, INEC has appointed mostly university professors and Vice Chancellors as Retuning Officers for State governorship elections. Though INEC set aside the Adamawa REC’s declaration and invited the Police to investigate and prosecute him, it has not failed to attract criticisms as most observers and Nigerians have worried that Nigeria’s electoral system may indeed be crumbling. The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and other observers criticised the appointment of partisan elements into key positions in INEC, including National Commissioners and RECs. In some cases, relations and family members of politicians have been nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari into INEC’s sensitive positions and confirmed by the Senate without listening to complaints of possible partisanship. In one of the States of the South East, a REC is reported to be a sister of a chieftain of the ruling party.
In other supplementary elections that held in 23 States across Nigeria on April 15, the supplementary governorship election in Kebbi State was conducted, as well as 36 National Assembly and 57 State Houses of Assembly elections which held with some complaints of violence still.