Adamawa REC reported to Buhari as Fintiri emerge victorious

The Governor of Adamawa state, Ahmadu Fintiri, has emerged victorious in a legal battle against the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Abdul-Azeez Nyako, and the party’s former Secretary in the state, Kobis Ari Thimnu.

The case was centred around allegations that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had unlawfully appointed three Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to conduct the state’s governorship election.

According to the report, the three RECs – Kassim Gana Gaidam, Baba Abba Yusuf, and Tukur Sa’ad – were appointed by INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, after the former RECs were removed from office. The APC had argued that the new RECs had not been screened by the Senate as required by law, and therefore their appointment was illegal.

However, the Federal High Court in Yola ruled in favour of Governor Fintiri, stating that the APC had no legal standing to challenge the appointment of the RECs. The judge, Justice Abdulaziz Anka, said that the party’s case was “speculative, academic, and hypothetical,” and that the court had no jurisdiction to hear it.

Reacting to the ruling, Governor Fintiri expressed his satisfaction with the judgment and praised the judiciary for upholding the rule of law. He also urged the APC to accept the verdict and move on, saying that “we should all work together for the development of Adamawa State.”

Meanwhile, INEC has reportedly taken the case to President Muhammadu Buhari for his intervention. According to a statement by the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, the commission is seeking the President’s “urgent intervention in the matter in the interest of the stability of the electoral process and democratic governance.”

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