The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, says the declaration of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, Aishatu Binani, by the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) was against the wishes of the people of the state.

Atiku, who hails from Adamawa State, said the declaration of Binani as the winner of the supplementary election, was “a case study to the shambolic nature” of the 2023 general election.

The former Vice President said this via a statement issued on Sunday, April 16, by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe.

He stated that the delivery of an acceptance speech by Binani showed a false victory which the INEC promised the APC gubernatorial candidate.

The PDP presidential flag-bearer said: “Here in Adamawa, we are witnesses to a novel practice in election management where a Resident Electoral Commissioner announced the loser of an election as a winner.

“It is not in doubt that INEC has approached the Adamawa State election with a preset agenda of declaring the APC at all cost.

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“It is, therefore, on this note that we wish to call the attention of the world to the scheme being perpetrated by INEC to compromise the electoral wishes of the people of Adamawa State.

“We also wish to inform the world that such behaviour by INEC has a natural consequence of unsettling the peace and security of the society.

“We have seen how INEC conducted the February 25 and March 18 elections against the run of play and challenging cheated candidates to go to the court, knowing full well the agenda that they are up to.

“It must be put on record that the people of Adamawa State will not allow themselves to cheated three times in a row. It must also be put on record that whatever the consequences of the scheme being scripted, both the INEC and those vested with state powers should be blamed for the consequences of such actions.

“That the APC candidate has a prepared acceptance speech is a pointer to the guarantee of a false victory which the INEC must have promised her.

“Recall that this was the same Resident Electoral Commissioner who pressured the Returning Officer to manipulate the results of the contentious Fufore Local Government Area in the March 18 governorship election.

“The people of Adamawa shall not allow this injustice to pass without being challenged.

“It is our demand that the Adamawa REC and any other parties complicit in this treasonable act should be arrested immediately and prosecuted to the full extent of the law to serve as a deterrent to anti-democratic forces who may want to torpedo our democracy and provoke violence in our country,” Atiku said.

The Returning Officer for the election, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, declared Binani as the winner while the collation of results was still ongoing at the INEC collation centre in Yola, the Adamawa State capital on Sunday.

Yunusa-Ari, who said the APC candidate scored the highest number of votes, did not provide the data or the results with which she won the election.

The election results from 10 out of the 20 Local Government Areas of Adamawa State was declared by the Returning Officer before he adjourned the exercise till 11 a.m.

He, however, declared Binani as the winner of the election an hour before the scheduled time.

The Star