Elizabeth O.
Supreme Court Confirms Election of Adamawa Governor Fintiri, Dismisses APC Petition
The apex court has determined that Governor Fintiri’s election was conducted in accordance with the provisions of the law.
Previously, on January 29, the Supreme Court of Nigeria had reserved judgment on the appeal filed by Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The court, headed by John Okoro, adjourned the matter for judgment after hearing arguments from the involved parties.
Akin Olujimi, counsel for Binani, had argued that the declaration made by the then-Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari, stating that she won the 2023 governorship election, was lawful.
It is worth noting that in December 2023, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja had already affirmed Fintiri’s election. The three-judge panel dismissed Binani’s appeal and upheld the decision of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
Justice Tunde Oyebamiji Awotoye, delivering the judgment, awarded N500,000 in favor of each of the three respondents. Binani had alleged various irregularities and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act, such as non-accreditation, improper accreditation, overvoting, violence, and the snatching of election materials.
Binani argued that the election of Governor Fintiri should not be valid because there were multiple declarations of the winner and returns made.
According to her, she was initially declared the winner by the REC, Yunusa-Ari. Consequently, she maintained that the election had two different declarations of a winner.
In the supplementary election held in the state, Fintiri received 9,337 votes, securing his victory over Binani, who came in second with 6,513 votes. The supplementary election took place in 69 polling units across the state’s 20 local administrations, involving fewer than 40,000 eligible voters.
The final results were announced by Mohammed Mele, the INEC Returning Officer in the state. Mele, a professor, confirmed that the PDP governorship candidate had fulfilled the constitutional requirement and was duly returned as the governor of the state.
