Sacked REC Ari Swears To God That APC’s Binani Won Adamawa Governorship Election
By Juliet Vincent
Sacked Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Barrister Hudu Ari, says All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Senator Aisha Binani, won the 2023 governorship election.
He spoke to journalists on the matter at his private residence in Bauchi State on Saturday.
According to him, he has evidence proving that Binani defeated the incumbent governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He defended his stance by swearing with the name of God, insisting that his actions during the exercise were based on truth and evidence.
Ari was suspended in 2023 and sacked after President Bola Tinubu wrote to the Senate to dismiss him which was ratified last week.
He pointed out that his evidence of election irregularities was disregarded by both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Adamawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.
Ari said there was immense pressure on him and other electoral officials to declare Governor Fintiri the winner or risk personal security threats.
He further alleged that INEC’s Head of ICT in Adamawa State, Bala Aji, compromised the election process by handing over about 20,000 election documents to the governor, who was also the PDP candidate in the election.
Ari also accused Aji of distributing BVAS machines and bribing INEC staff with foreign currency on Election Day,.
“This was a clear abuse of responsibility, and I took immediate steps against these actions, expecting INEC headquarters to intervene. Instead, my reports were ignored,” he lamented.
Addressing allegations that he received a N2billion bribe from politicians, Ari flatly denied the claim. He revealed that he was consulting his family on whether to pursue legal action, stating, “Nigeria belongs to all of us, and it is up to us to either make it or mar it.”
