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April 21, 2023
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has said that its suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner of Adamawa State, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, has disappeared without trace.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter education committee, Mr Festus Okoye, disclosed this on Friday while featuring on Channels TV programme.
Okoye said, “We don’t know where he is because, after this particular incident, the Commission wrote him and also called him on the phone. He never returned any of the calls; he never answered any of the calls.
“We asked him to report to the Commission on Sunday we didn’t see him, we asked him to report on Monday we didn’t see him. So up till this moment, he has not reported and we don’t know his whereabouts.”
On if he thought Ari would be declared wanted for failing to report to the commission or answer its calls, Okoye said that was the responsibility of the Nigerian Police.
He said: “Well, that is the responsibility of the Nigerian police. If they feel that his presence is absolutely needed during the investigation and he is nowhere to be found, it is their prerogative and discretion to declare him wanted.”
SaharaReporters had reported that the suspended REC caught trouble on Sunday, after he announced the supplementary governorship election results in Adamawa State, while collation was not yet concluded.
It had been reported that Ari declared Senator Aisha Dahiru Binnani of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the election.
Few minutes later, the Commission's headquarters, Abuja nullified the result as declared by him, and consequently invited to Abuja.
Later after suspended the collation continued and concluded the process. Finally the incumbent Governor Ahmadu Fintiri was officially declared winner of the election on Tuesday.
On Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a probe of all the security operatives involved in the illegal act.