The judiciary has been warned against interfering with the electoral processes in Adamawa State following last Sunday’s false declaration of a winner of the supplementary elections held in the state a day earlier.
The state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Barrister Hudu Yunusa-Ari had announced Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (well known as Binani), the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, as the winner of the governorship election against public outcry.
The REC’s announcement of the winner has been condemned as it is the duty of the Returning Officer instead.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) rejected the result, noting that the announcement was in violation of Section 25 (2f) of the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as Sections 65 and 66, which empowered only the returning officer to make such declaration.
Following the REC’s false declaration, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) immediately ordered his suspension and barred him from the commission’s office in Yola, the state capital.
CDD’s Executive Director, Idayat Hassan said that the group warned against attempts by political actors to derail the process by calling for the Judiciary’s intervention before the conclusion of the election.
The statement read in part: “CDD has observed that some political actors are now dragging the Judiciary into the issue by making demands that run parallel to democratic norms and laid down laws and guidelines for the conduct of elections. It is strange for the Judiciary to be called in midway into the electoral process to interpret any action.
“Since it is abundantly clear that the now suspended Adamawa REC acted only as an imposter in announcing the so-called winner, no one ought to be told that the action was a nullity. The Judiciary should not be dragged into what is clearly an illegal affair ab initio”.
Hassan called on the leadership of the Judiciary to avoid any form of unwholesome interference in the process, while reiterating that political actors should allow the elections to follow legally laid down processes in declaring a winner before seeking any redress at the courts.
“We reiterate our stance for all actors to allow the process as spelt out in the law to be followed in promptly declaring the winner of the governorship election. INEC should be allowed to follow its laid down legal means of collation and announcement of results before any aggrieved party approaches the right court for any needed redress.
“We once again call on political actors, electoral officials, and security agents to operate within the ambit of the law and avoid any situation that can lead to chaos or threaten peace. We call on the people of Adamawa State to remain calm as INEC brings closure to this process in line with the extant laws governing the conduct of elections”.
