Court Upholds Fintiri’s Victory
The Supreme Court upheld Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri’s victory, rejecting the petition of Aishatu Dahiru Binani of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was vying for the governorship as the legitimate victor of the April 16, 2023, supplemental elections.
Following the dismissal of Binani’s appeal for lack of merit by a five-member bench of the Apex Court chaired by Justice John Okoro, Fintiri’s governorship seat was confirmed on Wednesday.
The Apex Court rules unanimously that the APC candidate for governor of Adamawa failed to present sufficient and reliable evidence to support her claim that she received the majority of legitimate votes cast in the contest.
The panel of the Supreme Court has ruled that the behavior of Hudu Ari, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), was careless and illegal in declaring the election results while the collation process was still happening.
The court rules that the exclusive authority to announce election results belongs to the Returning Officer of the electoral agency, INEC. It goes on to say that the presence of the contentious REC, who is currently at large, would have been crucial in supporting the Binani appeal, but that his absence hasn’t helped.
Regarding the contentious declaration made by the Adamawa REC, the Supreme Court maintains that since INEC was established by the Constitution and its officers are tasked with particular responsibilities, it is their duty to act within the bounds of their authority and refrain from going beyond it.
Akin Olujimi, Binani’s attorney, insisted that REC Hudu Ari had followed the law when he proclaimed Binani to be duly elected, citing Section 149 as support. However, the Court believes it will only be applicable if it complies with both the Electoral Act and the Constitution. In this particular case, it made it very clear that the REC’s actions were reckless and illegal.
The Apex Court concludes that those tasked with appointing those running elections ought to make sure that only honorable and morally upright individuals are chosen. It continues, saying that people will have no other reason to accept the results of the Nigerian elections.
Thus, “unknown quantity have no business conducting elections” in Nigeria, according to the Apex Court.
