Binani won 2023 Adamawa election, sacked REC insists

Hudu Yunusa-Ari, who used to oversee elections in Nigeria’s Adamawa state, continues to claim that Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the state’s 2023 governor election.

At a press conference in Bauchi state on Saturday, Yunusa-Ari held up the Quran while defending his controversial decision to announce Binani as the winner. He says he tried multiple times to explain his actions to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through letters. He also claims officials were pressured to declare Ahmadu Fintiri, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, as winner instead.

“The dismissal is not my problem. The civil service is governed by civil service rules, procedures, and services,” he said. He argued that he deserved to be heard, stating, “Even God will never punish anybody without sending the messages, the prophets, and the scriptures.”

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Yunusa-Ari added, “Wallahi, whatever I do, I do it within the bounds of the Quran. We have to remember the last day. I can even announce it now; she won the election against Fintiri.”

This controversy began in April 2023 when Yunusa-Ari declared Binani the winner before vote counting was finished. INEC quickly rejected his announcement and called him to their headquarters in Abuja. Then-President Muhammadu Buhari suspended him while police investigated.

In July 2024, INEC filed six charges against him in Yola’s high court. Recently, the Senate approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to fire Yunusa-Ari, along with election commissioners from Abia and Sokoto states, for alleged misconduct.