In a surprising turn of events, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Adamawa state, Yunusa Hudu Ari, declared Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the state governorship polls, despite official results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showing that she was trailing behind Governor Ahmadu Fintiri.
The governor had established a margin of lead of 31,249 votes, but the REC declared Binani the winner.
Governor Fintiri had polled 421,524 votes, while Binani polled 390,275 votes, but the margin of lead did not exceed the number of cancelled votes in 69 polling units with a total number of Permanent Voters Card collected of 37,016, so Fintiri could not be returned by the state returning officer, Professor Mohammed Mele.
At the resumption of the collation of results from the supplementary polls, a mild drama ensued as the Adamawa REC abruptly suspended the collation exercise until Sunday, sneaked into the collation center at 9:00 am to declare Binani the winner.
INEC has officially tweeted asking Nigerians to disregard the action of Adamawa REC, who usurped the powers of the returning officer, Professor Mohammed Mele, and proceeded with making a return when the results of the supplementary polls are yet to be tallied.