Suspended Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Barr. Hudu Yunusa-Ari, has insisted that he stands by his decision to declare Aisha Binani as the victor of the governorship election held on April 15 in the state.
Before the completion of the collation of results, Yunusa-Ari caused a stir by announcing Aisha Binani Dahiru, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner. Read Also Soludo blows hot vows to cut salaries of Workers observing Sit-At-Home Reps write UK government, seek mercy for Ike Ekweremadu.
The electoral commission known as the Independent National Electoral Commission invalidated the statement and requested that the REC come to their main office in Abuja. Following this, the commission composed a letter to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to charge Yunusa-Ari for the electoral violation.
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On April 20, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the suspension of the Adamawa REC pending the completion of an investigation by the police. A day later, INEC said it was not aware of the whereabouts of Yunusa-Ari. Speaking in an interview published by BBC Hausa on Tuesday, Yunusa-Ari said he wasn’t offered money by anyone to make the announcement.
The suspended REC said he never went into hiding, adding that he will honour the invitation of the police. Yunusa-Ari stated that he did not request any money from Binani and Fintiri. According to his religious beliefs, he cannot accept money from someone in exchange for assistance. He vehemently denies the rumors that he was offered N2 billion, calling them unfounded claims.
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He swears to God that he did not receive any such offer. “I saw on social media that someone offered me N2 billion. Where will I get the money? I don’t regret announcing Binani winner of the election. Anything you do according to the law, you won’t regret it.
“I wrote a letter to INEC which they said they won’t accept — but I’m sure they’ve accepted and the invitation sent by the police is mandatory for me to honour it. “I never went into hiding. I will honour the invitation of the police.