YOLA, Nigeria — The office of the Adamawa Governor has dismissed Aisha Dahiru, known as Binani’s, move to challenge the governorship election results as “fruitless and dead on arrival.”
Humwashi Wonosikou, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, categorically refuted allegations made by supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC, that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, biasedly aided Fintiri’s victory in the 2023 election.
In a statement issued on Saturday, July 22, 2023, Wonosikou described the claims as baseless and a typical maneuver of politicians who have failed to achieve power.
The statement read in part, “Our attention has been drawn to a press conference held in Abuja on Saturday, July 22, 2023, by the Binani-led faction of the APC in Adamawa, in which they accused the INEC of supporting His Excellency, The Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri to win the 2023 election in Adamawa…This move too is fruitless and dead on arrival.”
Wonosikou went on to accuse Binani of playing a part in a “failed civilian coup,” referring to the role of the now-suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa Ari.
He further alleged that the APC’s gubernatorial race was tainted by pay-for-votes and the general “dollarization” of the entire process, which he claims led to the primary election being declared invalid by the Federal High Court in Yola.
The press secretary painted a picture of an embattled Senator Binani who has been misled by “political mercenaries and conflict entrepreneurs” into believing she could crush every opposing voice.
He contended that dialogue and reconciliation would have been a more civilized approach.
“We have repeatedly asked Binani to provide a single polling unit where there was violence during the 2023 election, and the 2023 election was the most peaceful election in Adamawa State. But as of right now, she hasn’t,” Wonosikou stated.
He concluded his statement by urging Binani and her supporters to focus their efforts on refuting the fraudulent proclamation allegedly made by Hudu and his accomplices and defending the legal grounds for what he described as a “civil coup” in Adamawa.
The strong wording of the statement underscores the intense political atmosphere in the wake of the contentious governorship election in Adamawa State.
