A pro-democracy group, the Leadership League, has condemned Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, for usurping the duties of the state governorship election returning officer during the Supplementary election in the state.
The group which said the action was a mockery of the electoral laws, called for prosecution of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Aisha Dahiru Binani, Yunusa-Ari and the security heads who accompanied him to make the announcement.
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“INEC as matter of urgency must initiate the process of prosecuting REC Hudu Ari and his co-conspirators who went beyond their official capacity as provided by the law to announce this fraudulent victory.
“We also call for the arrest of APC candidate Binani who knew the announcement was done outside the premise of our electoral law but still went ahead to accept publicly and declare herself governor elect,” it added.
National caucus members of the group, Ms May Ubeku, Mr Ose Anenih, Mr John Shuaibu, Mr Babasola Kuti, Mr Ayokunle Adekunle and Bashorun Abimbola Koju, who made the call in a statement issued in Abuja, said the action of the REC is a dent on the 2023 general election.
“We strongly condemn this despicable act of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Adamawa State. It is a serious indictment on the Security officials who accompanied the REC to attempt to ‘murder’ democracy and make a mockery of our electoral laws,” the group noted.
The group which praised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for disowning the declaration, said the electoral umpire should complete the process of the election without delay.
While promising that it will continue to monitor developments from the supplementary elections to ensure that the will of the people of Adamawa state is not truncated, Leadership League called on media houses, local and international observers to be fearless and bold enough in the discharge of their duties.
It would be recalled that Yunusa-Ari, on Sunday declared Binani as winner of the election, without announcing the votes scored by the contestants.
