The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has confirmed the election of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ahmadu Finitri, in the Adamawa Governorship Elections.
The appeal of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Aishatu Binani, was dismissed by the court for lacking merit.
In the judgement given and read by Justice Ebiowei Tobi on Monday, the Appeal Court also awarded Fintiri and the PDP N500,000 in costs against Binani.
The court disapproved the premature election results announced by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Ari, ading that Binani’s petition was faulty by multiple issues.
It also made it very clear that the Resident Electoral Commissioner’s declaration of Binani as the winner was unlawful and beyond the scope of the law, as only the Returning Officer possesses this authority.
This ruling upheld the Tribunal’s October 28 decision to reject Binani’s appeal, which accused her of excessive voting and demanded papers to support her argument that the election’s results were flawed.
Finitri’s election controversy
Fintiri won what many referred to as a dramatic supplementary election in Adamawa State, which took place exactly one month after the governorship elections on March 18.
With 9,337 votes, Fintiri defeated Senator Binani, who received 6,513 votes.
In a show marred by controversies, Ari prematurely declared Binani the victor, in violation of the Election Act, the day before Fintiri’s pronouncement while collation was in progress.
According to Section 25 of the Electoral Act, 2022, in the event of a governorship race, only the returning officer is authorised to announce the winner and announce the results at the state collation center.
