This was done by the REC and not the returning officer, as provided by the Electoral Act.
A dramatic twist to the governorship election in Adamawa state has emerged as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Aishatu Dahiru Binani has been declared the winner of the poll before the completion of the collation of results.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Hudu Yunusa, announced Binani as the winner, even when the resumption of the collation of results scheduled for 11 am on Sunday had yet to start.
This was done by the REC and not the returning officer, as provided by the Electoral Act.
He allocated 221,303 votes to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate and the incumbent governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.
The figures allocated to Fintiri represent a 50 per cent shortfall of his initial score of over 400,000 votes.
SaharaReporters had on March 20, 2023, reported that the Adamawa State governorship election had been declared inconclusive, even as Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri leads with 421,524.
Declaring the polls inclusive, the returning officer, Prof Mohammed Mele said the election was inconclusive because the cancelled votes exceeded the margin of victory.
When collation opened after the supplementary election on Saturday, the returning officer, Mele, after collating results from about 10 local government areas, adjourned collation to 11:00 am on Sunday.
However, as early as 9:00 am, the REC in company with the police commissioner, Mohammed Barde, Director of the Department of State Services and Commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, announced Binani as the winner.