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  • Why Did INEC Announce A Fake Result in Adamawa?

    The 2023 general elections had many surprises, and for Adamawa state, more election drama is set to unfold in the coming weeks.

    Adamawa’s governorship elections caught the interest of many Nigerians because of its potential to produce Nigeria’s first female elected governor if Aishatu “Binani” Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) emerge victorious. However, her opponent is the state’s incumbent governor, Ahmadu Fintiri of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    On the D-day of the March 18 governorship elections, Fintiri was in the lead with 421,524 votes, and Binani trailed behind with 390,275 votes. But, the election was declared inconclusive for two reasons:

    • The vote margin (i.e. 31,249 votes) between Fintiri and Binani exceeded the cancelled votes.
    • Due to electoral violence and overvoting, elections were cancelled in 69 polling units which affected about 37,016 potential voters.

    On March 27, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that supplementary polls would be held on April 15, 2023.

    However, it’s unfortunate that the supplementary elections conducted in Adamawa can be described as a show of shame. We will break down some key things that happened during the elections.

    Journalists weren’t allowed to observe the collation process

    It’s customary for journalists to cover the collation process in every election, but armed security officers prevented journalists from entering the collation centre during the supplementary elections in Adamawa state. When asked why, the security officials said it was “an order from above”. 

    A winner was declared before the conclusion of the collation process

    The results of the elections started trickling in, and it showed Fintiri in the lead in 10 out of 20 local governments. But, the Returning Officer suspended the collation process at 1 a.m. and said the results announcement would resume by 11 a.m. the next day, April 16. 

    However, the state’s INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Ari, shocked Nigeria when by 9 a.m., he announced Aishatu Binani as the winner of the governorship elections. 

    According to Sections 64 and 65 of the Electoral Act, the winner of an election can only be announced by a Returning Officer appointed by INEC, but it looks like Hudu decided to take matters into his own hands.

    Aishatu Binani gave an acceptance speech

    While many Nigerians were still trying to figure out the magic happening in Adamawa, Binani hurriedly gave an acceptance speech thanking the people for electing her. She also said her win would encourage other women to participate in politics. 

    INEC annuls the declaration

    As we already said, only a Returning Officer has the right to declare the winner of an election. INEC condemned the action of the REC and described it as a “usurpation of the power of the returning officer”. The declaration of Aishatu Binani as the Adamawa state election’s winner was rendered null and void, and the election process was suspended.

    Hudu Ari might be looking at jail time

    The seemingly rogue REC, Hudu Ari, has been summoned to the INEC headquarters in Abuja. According to Section 120(4) of the Electoral Act 2022, he might be sentenced to 36 months imprisonment for announcing a false result.

    On April 18, 2023, INEC announced that it hopes to close the controversial chapter on Adamawa’s governorship elections by Thursday, April 20, 2023. Nonetheless, the 2023 general elections have shown us so far that there are a lot of internal issues INEC needs to work on because it’s almost as clear as day that they’re too compromised to trust with conducting free and fair elections in Nigeria. 

    Tolu Omotesho

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  • Wait First: Who “Declared” Binani Governor?

    On March 19, 2023, Nigerian Twitter was buzzing with congratulatory messages for Aishatu Binanu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Adamawa state, on her victory at the polls held on March 18, 2023. 

    The mood was especially jubilant as she was said to be Nigeria’s first elected female governor. The outgoing British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, and other notable Twitter users like Aloy Chife and J.J Omojuwa congratulated her .

    The celebrations turned out to be premature. There were no credible news reports that announced the victory, and neither had the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Although Binani had won seven local governments out of 18 INEC had announced, she was still trailing behind the incumbent governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, who had won 11. The lead margin was over 16,000, with three LGs still to go. So how, despite these, was the claim of Binani’s victory so easily believed? 

    The fact check agency, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD West Africa), looked into the origin of the claim. Here’s what they found. 

    A parody account spreads misinformation

    A parody account named @Binani4Governor on Twitter was the originator of this claim.

    The handle had posted results purported to be from Adamawa at 5:39 p.m. on Sunday, March 19, with the caption, “Final results.” But CDD Election War Room was informed by a journalist that results collation at the state collation centre started at about 12:16 p.m. at the state capital, Yola.

    A few minutes past 2 p.m., Fintiri had secured six LGAs, while Binani had four LGAs. Aliyu Hong, the state collating officer for the PDP, announced at the collation centre that thugs snatched the result sheet while INEC officials were collating election results from the wards in Fufore LGA of Adamawa. Regardless, at 6:13 pm, the handle posted a graphic showing Binani with the inscription, “Madam Governor”. But as of 7 p.m., when the collation officer announced another break, 18 of 21 LGAs had been reported.

    Binani had 329,770 votes, while Finitri was in the lead with 346,103 votes. This was when the claim began to go viral on social media, with the “Madam governor” graphic making the rounds.

    The aftermath

    On Monday, March 20, INEC declared the state guber poll inconclusive, with results from one local government, Fufore, yet to be collated as thugs had reportedly snatched the results sheet of the LGA.

    INEC has scheduled April 15 for a supplementary election in the affected LGA. Contrary to earlier claims, Binani has not won the Adamawa guber election. Any such claim is misleading and, therefore, cold zobo.

    In Nigeria’s Electoral Act 2022, only INEC has the power to declare a winner at the federal and state levels. Protect yourself from fake news. Corroborate claims by checking out trusted news sources or from INEC itself.

    Stephen Agwaibor

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  • Who Are the ‘Powerful’ Women Gunning for Their Thrones in the 2023 Elections?

    We are now 43 days to the start of the 2023 elections, with the buildup being mostly around the men — from the gaffes and entitlement of Tinubu to the fast-rising stardom of Peter Obi. But for once, let’s talk about women.

    We only have 1,046  women running for several positions of power in Nigeria. This is less than 10% of the candidates to expect in 2023.

    Despite the low numbers, there are still some women that are managing to stir drama and conversation out of their campaigns. Let’s look at some of them:  

    Tonto Dikeh – Gubernatorial Running Mate, Rivers State (ADC) 

    After 15 years of dedication to the Nollywood film industry, Dikeh decided to take a bow from the screen and join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a running mate for gubernatorial aspirant, Tonte Ibraiye in Rivers State.

    But with little to no political history, and a backdrop of scandals, including a 2019 Dubai arrest, how good of a deputy governor would she be if elected? Or is this all dependent on star power?

    Funke Akindele – Gubernatorial Running Mate, Lagos State (PDP)

    When Dr. Olajide Adediran-Azeez, popularly known as Jandor, announced that actress and comedian, Funke Akindele, will be his running mate for the Lagos state governorship elections, a lot of Nigerians were shocked by his choice.

    Here’s a tweet that clearly explains why:

    https://twitter.com/maxvayshia/status/1546882417599856641?s=20&t=OsvMG-pxLF-0CafOMGosdQ

    Jandor countered the criticism with the argument that she has invested in the economy with the employment of labour. However, there are varying reports that Akindele treats her staff poorly and owes salaries. 

    How confident then can Lagosians be with her governance?

    Aishatu Binani – Governor, Adamawa State (APC)

    After fighting all the obstacles that her party rival, Nuhu Ribadu, shot against her in her Federal High Court to disqualify her as an aspirant, the Yola Court of Appeal reinstated Binani as the governorship candidate for Adamawa in the All-Progressives Congress (APC).

    She is currently the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She was instrumental in the passing of many bills, especially the Modibbo Adama University Bill of 2019. This bill allowed the university to run approved academic programs like Medicine, Law amongst others. 

    If she wins, Binani will be the first female governor Nigeria has ever had.

    Stella Oduah – Senate, Anambra North District

    After seven years of representing the region, Oduah announced in November 2022 that she will like to run for a third term as a representative for the district. This was under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    But certain groups in Anambra were not pleased with the announcement. They felt that the amount of years spent in the Senate is “fair” and that she has not done enough for the people in the years she spent as Anambra’s senator.

    Their anger definitely isn’t far-fetched, as Oduah has a history of corruption behind her. 

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had accused her of alleged fraudulent cash transactions. The amount was close to N5 billion over five months in 2014.

    In February 2014, she was removed as the Minister of Aviation by then-President Goodluck Jonathan. This was after a scandal over N255 million armoured cars. It was said that she made the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), an agency under her supervision, buy them for her at inflated prices.

    After her removal as Minister, she was also found guilty of secretly buying London property behind an anonymous company name, according to the Pandora Paper Investigations. 

    After all said and done, would you still want any of these women to be your elected leaders in the coming months?

    Whether the answer is yes or no, make sure to get your Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC), before January 29, 2023. Vote for the right leaders this time in February. The nation depends on you.

    We write the news and track the 2023 elections for citizens, by citizens in our weekly newsletter, Game of Votes. Make the subscription of a lifetime here.

    Chiamaka Dike

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