Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Abuja on Monday, Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary of the party, alleged that Yunusa attempted to alter the result of the last governorship election in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ahead of the supplementary election in Adamawa State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mallam Hudu Yunusa.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Abuja on Monday, Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary of the party, alleged that Yunusa attempted to alter the result of the last governorship election in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Recall that there have been controversies over the gubernatorial election in Adamawa State and as a result, the INEC declared the election in the state as inconclusive, while assuring that it would conduct credible supplementary governorship election in the State to make Nigerians and the international community proud.
But the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary alleged that the party has been made aware “of fresh plots by the defeated All Progressives Congress (APC) and certain compromised officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Adamawa State to further manipulate the outcome of the March 18, 2023 Governorship election in the State.”
According to Ologunagba, “As already declared by INEC, the final tabulation of results from the Polling Units across Adamawa State, the PDP Candidate, His Excellency, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, is in clear lead with 31,299 lawful votes above the defeated candidate of the APC, Senator Aisha Binani, who has been desperate to compromise the election against the expressed Will of the good people of Adamawa State.
“It would be recalled that the PDP had earlier alerted Nigerians of how the APC and some compromised INEC officials attempted to move the collation of results of the Adamawa State Governorship election from Yola to Abuja to enable the INEC Returning Officer declare the defeated APC candidate the winner; a move which was firmly resisted by the people of Adamawa State.
“When that plot failed, the APC pressured INEC to cancel results in 69 Polling Units citing overvoting but with the clandestine intention of manipulating the re-run election in favour of the APC candidate.
“The APC candidate has been allegedly boasting that she has the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) and Returning Officer for the election who she reportedly claims are willing to manipulate the election results in her favour notwithstanding the votes by the people of Adamawa State.
“Such reported boasting by the APC candidate is in complete effrontery to the democratic right and Will of the people of Adamawa State to choose their leaders. This is evident of the arrogance, contempt and disdain to which the APC holds the people of the Adamawa State.
“It has come to the knowledge of our Party that the APC and its candidate, having realized that they cannot defeat Governor Fintiri in the 69 Polling Units, given his popularity and determination of the people, are now putting pressure on INEC to alter already collated and declared results in other Polling Units where no cases of malpractice or disruption of election took place.
“The PDP alerts the people of Adamawa of fresh plots by the APC, its hired agents and compromised officials of INEC to alter and cancel the already declared results in 21 Local Government Areas where elections have been concluded and declared.
“The PDP has evidence of reported complicity of the Adamawa State REC Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari, in which he was allegedly caught on tape directing the Electoral Officer of Fufore Local Government Area in Hausa Language to alter results in favour of the APC governorship candidate.
“This action by the Adamawa REC is reprehensible, sacrilegious, profane and unbecoming of an Electoral Officer. INEC should therefore immediately relieve Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari as the State Resident Electoral Commissioner and hand him over to the Police for a thorough investigation and prosecution.”