January 31, (THEWILL) – The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, dismissed the joint appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Aisha Dahiru, popularly called Binani, against victory of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri in the 2023 Governorship Election in Adamawa State.
The appellants had prayed the apex court to set aside the concurrent judgements of the Adamawa Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and Court of Appeal, which earlier affirmed Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as duly elected governor.
A three-member panel of the appellate court had in a judgement, delivered on December 18, 2023, dismissed the appeal filed by Binani.
The Justices unanimously upheld the judgement of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which earlier validated the election of Fintiri as duly elected Governor of Adamawa state.
The Adamawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, chaired by Justice Theodora Obi Uloho, on Saturday, October 28, dismissed the joint petition filed by the APC and Binani against the declaration of Governor Fintiri as the winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship election in Adamawa State.
THEWILL recalls the controversy stirred by the suspended Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Barr. Hudu Yunusa-Ari, when he declared Binani winner of the governorship election with results in only 10 out of the 21 local government areas of the state collated by the commission.
While INEC voided the April 16 controversial declaration, President Buhari had directed investigation of his action following his suspension.
Delivering judgement on Wednesday, the apex court held that the action of the suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Adamawa State, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, who declared Senator Dahiru as the winner of the poll, was an act of irresponsibility and criminality.
The court held that only a Returning Officer has the duty to announce the results of an election to avert chaos and anarchy in the process.
According to the Supreme Court, the Electoral Act 2022, specified who should declare results, stressing that such power was exclusively donated to the Returning Officer.
Consequently, it resolved all the issues that were raised in the appeal against the appellants.
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