By Modibbo Abdulkadeer
As Nigerians look forward to the re-run of the gubernatorial poll in Adamawa, some key factors stand out.First, all eyes are on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as the key actors expect justice and fairness.Recall that the March 18 election in the state was declared inconclusive by the electoral umpire.
Also, the election in Adamawa has assumed a major gender battle in a traditional society.Will the incumbent Umaru Fintiri, truly retain his seat or will the Aisha Binani first female gubernatorial contestant cause an upset and dethrone the incumbent?
There may have been other parties in the race before but it is now clearly a battle between the Peoples Democratic, Party,PDP struggling to regain its seat and the All Progressives Congress, APC seeking to ensure a historic, gender upset.PDP insiders say their candidate won and ought to have been declared winner.Binani’s supporters equally say they were shocked that the election was declared inconclusive since she seemed, in their view, to be winning
Fact is that Adamawa was pushed to a run-off. It is the first time since 1999 the state would witness such stalemate in a governorship contest. It is also the first time a female governorship candidate would be in the ballot and also the first time, a woman would create such a level of sensation in the state.
The nearest to the Adamawa incident happened in Taraba State in 2019, when Hajiya (Sen.) Aisha Alhassan held the incumbent Governor Darius Ishiaku to the jugular, but that was to the extent that she disputed the outcome of the election at the tribunal.
But, the Adamawa election has created a precedent in Nigeria’s political history; a run-off, first to be decided not by the Governorshop Election Returning Officer in the state, but by a review panel at the Abuja headquarters of the INEC and also, the fact that a lady is at the center of it all in a socio-cultural and religious mileu considered to be male dominated.
The issue now is not about the run-off, but the underlying political maneuvers to depart from the norm and set .
There have been claims and counter claims of political gerrymandering and obfuscation of facts, truth and due process with INEC at the center of it all.
First INEC came under attack ahead of the March 18 election, following allegations that it awarded a contract for the printing of the Gubernatorial Election Result Sheets to Binani Printing and Publishing Ltd, believed to be owned by Sen. Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, aka, Aisha Binani. She is the governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
When a copy of the contract issued by the Procurement Department of INEC surfaced, the electoral umpire, through Barr. Festus Okoye, National Commissioner, Voter Education and Publicity/Chairman, Publicity of the Commission, debunked the facts of the company belonging to Sen. Aisha Binani.
But there is the fear that Senator Binani, by the contract, obtained undue advantage in the electoral process, so did her party, the APC.
Another issue which cropped up in the state was the circulation of the results of the Adamawa governorship election tabulations, which placed Aisha Binani ahead of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), her key opponent at the election. The fake result which was promoted by no less a person than ace journalist with a cut off statement “congrats Aisha Binani for being Nigeria’s first elected female state governor. We all love you for opening new frontier for all Nigerian women”.This jolted political pundits who wondered how the renowned journalist could associate himself with false and fake election results so soon after his infamous vitrolic attacks against the Igbo for exercising their franchise in Lagos.
PDP pundits say the fake election result faux pas in Adamawa was mainly in respect of Fufore Local Government Area result where the journalist had in a Tweet shared on March 19, 2023, referred to the fake result sheet which awarded Binani 37,752 to Fintiri’s 7,568 votes as authentic. That’s a blatant lie. The correct result from the LGA showed Binani polling 24,777 and Fintiri polling 20,409 votes. However, this figure is subject of controversy which was cancelled by INEC’s review panel and a re-run ordered.
Another issue which is bugging Adamawa electorate is the disputation over the number of polling units affected in the re-run. The PDP Campaign Council claims there are alleged plans to manipulate and conduct the state governorship rerun election in 77 polling units, as against the 69 declared by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), meaning there’s additional eight polling units.
The incumbent governor, Umaru Fintiri, who polled 421,524 votes, as against Aishatu Binani’s 399,275 votes, could not be declared the winner considering that the total number of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected in the affected units is 37,016, according to Mele. He explained that the 37,016 ballots at stake were higher than Fintiri’s leading margin of 31,249. PDP chieftains in the state accordingly decried the RECs alleged desperation to manipulate the polls in favour of his preferred candidate.
Whether or not the allegations hold water, what is required more than ever before is transparency. Nigerians are worried and they are urging INEC to rise above board in its conduct of elections.
In Osun State, four years ago, former Governor Gboyega Oyetola came from behind and upstaged the front-runner at that election and current governor of the state, Sen. Ademola Adeleke. Such abracadabra also occurred in Edo State sometime ago, which were as a result of the failure of INEC to remain neutral and uphold transparency. Nigerians recall vividly how the former Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa-Ibom State, Barr. Mike Igini, etched his name on gold when he insisted that correct things be done during the governorship election in the state. Igini had to drag then Returning Officer to court and got him jailed for dishonesty and tampering with election results. Igini however paid the price as he was not nominated for further assignments at INEC by President Muhammadu Buhari. Similarly, the twosome of Profs. Michael Iwe, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, who served as the State Collation Officer in Enugu State and Prof. Nnenna Nnennaya Oti, Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, who served as the State Collation Officer for Abia State, joined Igini’s ranks by refusing to be used to thwart the wishes of the electorates in the two states. By insisting on due process, honesty and transparency, now needed in Adamawa, a lot was saved in both states.
On no account should shenanigans who promote activities that run counter to the letters of the Electoral Act or INEC Electoral Manual be permitted to handle the Adamawa governorship re-run. What is needed is the entrenchment of justice, equity and transparency. Anything to the contrary may not augur well. May that never be the case.
As the rerun draws closer, Fintiri’s supporters say he will win if the re-run election is free and fair. They say based on already known official result, Fintiri will win if there is no manipulation.
Binani’s supporters are equally upbeat about her chances.They believe momentum is in her favour.The question many are asking is: Will the APC big guns in Adamawa truly unite behind Binani or will they let Fintiri have the last laugh?Only time will tell
