Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied allegations of partisanship in the recently conducted Adamawa Supplementary Elections.
Ahmadu Finitiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was declared the winner of the election but it was not without some drama.
Recall that the collation of the election result was suspended for some days after the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari declared the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa, Aisha Dahiru Binani as the winner when the results from the remaining LGAs had not been announced.
However, Binani has dismissed reports that she offered the whooping sum of N2 billion as bribe to an official to be declared winner of the election.
Also, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye in a statement issued Thursday said there was no discreet nocturnal meeting between its officials and any governorship candidate.
He said: “The attention of the Commission has been drawn to a press statement by a candidate in the recently concluded Adamawa State Governorship election in which officials deployed for legitimate duty in the State were alleged to have undermined the electoral process after a discreet “nocturnal” visit to the Government House and ostensibly met with one of the candidates in the election who gave them a list of “collation and returning officers” deployed for the election.”
Okoye stressed that ordinarily, the Commission does not join issues with partisan actors, particularly where no evidence has been provided, but stated categorically that there was no such meeting
He added: “To set the record straight, no such visit or meeting took place let alone the compilation of any purported list of collation and returning officers. Such a meeting would have been contrary to the oath of neutrality that we all swore to.”
The National Commissioner noted that every conscientious observer would have noticed that the Commission appointed and retained only one Returning Officer for the Governorship election who also doubled as the State Collation Officer for the Presidential Election (SCOPE).
He explained that like all Returning Officers nationwide, he was issued with a letter of appointment by the Commission and the REC in Adamawa State was duly informed.
Okoye added that the list of Collation Officers was also forwarded to the State with every page of the list personally endorsed by the Chairman of the Commission well ahead of the arrival of the National Commissioners.
He emphasised that the same press statement created the impression that the national headquarters of the Commission specifically targeted Adamawa State in its deployment of National Commissioners and other officials with the sole intention of influencing the outcome of the supplementary election held on Saturday 25th April, 2023 and sidelining the REC, saying nothing could be further from the truth.
Okoye said for the record, it has been the standard policy and practice of the Commission to deploy National Commissioners, RECs and other staff from the headquarters or neighbouring States for supplementary or off-cycle elections where doing so was considered necessary.
He stressed that in the case of Adamawa State where supplementary governorship election was held in 69 polling units, two National Commissioners were deployed, while for Kebbi State involving 142 polling units, three National Commissioners were deployed.
Okoye noted: “Similarly, one National Commissioner each was deployed to Sokoto, Zamfara, Imo, Rivers, Ekiti and Ogun States. This has been the standard practice of the Commission of which all RECs are informed in advance.
“Therefore, Adamawa State was not specifically targeted. In all other States, the RECs worked cooperatively with the National Commissioners except in Adamawa State for reasons that are now obvious to all.”
The commission advised the public to discountenance these insinuations as nothing more than a claptrap.
The electoral body also advised those behind the mischief to desist forthwith as such fabrications have endangered the lives of its officials – both ad hoc and regular engaged in legitimate election duties.
The commission said its expected well-meaning citizens to act within the bounds of propriety and decency.
