Politics

How I Was Forced To Declare Fintiri Winner – Dismissed Adamawa REC

Published

11 months ago

February 9, 2025

Editor

The dismissed Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Adamawa State, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, has alleged that he was pressured to declare Governor Ahmadu Fintiri the winner of the controversial 2023 governorship election, despite possessing evidence that the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani, rightfully won.

Speaking in Bauchi on Saturday in an interview with select journalists, Yunusa-Ari accused both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and the Election Tribunal of deliberately ignoring evidence of widespread irregularities.

According to him, he and other officials were pressured to declare Fintiri the winner under threats to their security.

Swearing by the Holy Qur’an, he insisted that he acted in good faith and followed electoral guidelines.

He also accused INEC’s ICT head in Adamawa, Bala Aji, of compromising the election, alleging that Aji handed over 20,000 sensitive election documents to Governor Fintiri.

He further claimed that the documents were found in a private house linked to the governor, where top government officials were allegedly manipulating them.

Yunusa-Ari also alleged that Aji distributed BVAS machines and bribed INEC staff with foreign currency on election day, calling it a blatant abuse of office.

He lamented that his reports exposing those violations were ignored by INEC headquarters.

He said, “The dismissal is not my problem. The civil service is governed by civil service rules, procedures, and services.

“In law, there is what we call the golden rule of natural justice which says that you must be heard. Even God will never punish anybody without sending the messages, the prophets, and the scriptures.

“The refusal of INEC to collect my letters and then the tribunal said they are not using my evidence. Even as an ordinary judge, what do you say to that?” He asked

Ari insisted that he had substantial evidence to support his position but was never invited to present his case.

He displayed documents he claimed were authentic result sheets, along with letters he sent to INEC.

“They should have acted immediately, but my report was swept under the carpet. This is one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life,” he stated.

He decried being denied a fair hearing, claiming INEC and the Tribunal dismissed all his evidence.

Dismissing allegations of receiving a N2 billion bribe, Yunusa-Ari said he is consulting his family on his next steps, stating that the media trial has severely damaged his reputation.

Mr. Yunusa-Ari was suspended on April 17, 2023, after unilaterally declaring Aisha Binani, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, as the winner of the Adamawa State governorship rerun election while collation was still in progress.

His announcement was widely condemned as illegal, prompting the INEC to swiftly nullify the declaration.

He was later arraigned before the Adamawa State High Court on charges of unprofessional conduct.

Earlier this year, his attempt to halt court proceedings was dismissed for lacking merit.
DAILY POST

Politics

Obasanjo, Atiku, Obi Meet In Abuja

Published

10 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi met in Abuja on Saturday.

The trio were among prominent political figures who attended the Tambuwal Colloquium, titled “Leadership, Service and Statesmanship at 60,” held at the New Event Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, in honour of the 60th birthday of former Sokoto State Governor and Senator, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

Atiku confirmed his presence at the event in a post on his X handle, stating that he had arrived at the venue for the colloquium organised to mark Tambuwal’s milestone birthday.

The former vice president also shared images of himself, Obasanjo and Obi at the event.

The event attracted political leaders, statesmen and stakeholders from across the country.

Politics

PANDEF Wades Into Rivers Crisis, Sets Up Seven-member Mediation Team

Published

16 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has intervened in the political crisis in Rivers State, calling on all actors to sheathe their swords and embrace peace in the interest of the development of the state and the region in general.

Expressing concern that the political disagreement involving the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly might degenerate to total lawlessness, the Board and National Executive Committee of PANDEF set up a seven-member reconciliation team to resolve the issues.

The team, which is headed by a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, has six other members.

They are Senator Obende Domingo (Vice Chairman); Chief Essien Nduese; Dr Timiebi Koripamo-Agari; Chief Mike Ejiofor; Mrs Nella Rabana-Andem, SAN; and Prince Godwin Okotie, the Deputy National Secretary of PANDEF, who will serve as the secretary of the team.

Politics

Wike: Why Removing Fubara Will Be Difficult – Ex-Commissioner

Published

2 days ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has said that attempts to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara would be difficult to sustain, citing what he described as the governor’s performance record and the lack of concrete allegations against him.

Tam-George made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television, arguing that the impeachment process being initiated against Fubara was to scuttle his chance for a second term.

According to him, Governor Fubara has continued to place the needs of the people at the centre of his administration, with visible interventions in rural development, housing, education and healthcare.

He said this, in his view, has made it difficult for opponents to justify moves to remove the governor from office.

Tam-George also called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, to intervene, arguing that the party should not allow what he described as the humiliation of a sitting governor.

He said: “Well, all I think he needs to do is to do exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning, which is to place the people at the center of gravity of his administration, prioritize the needs of the people, so that the people can see the direct impact of government action in their lives.

“And that’s exactly what he’s doing in terms of rural development, in terms of housing sector transformation, which I mentioned that he is doing the same in education sector and in health.

“So if he continues, if he persists in placing the people’s need at the center of focus of his administration, there is no way they are going to be able to justify this kind of shenanigans.

“Because, if you look very carefully at the so called articles of impeachment, you will see that there is no specificity in terms of any infraction by the governor or his deputy.

“What they are trying to do is to make sure they scuttle the administration so that the governor doesn’t then get to the point where he will be seeking a second term.

“Let me be clear, just two days ago, Nyesom Wike was at one of the local governments, and he made it clear in a moment of epiphany, he made it clear that, look, if Governor Fubara were to get a second term in office, it will amount to his own political burial.

“So all of these things that we are seeing the so called impeachment proceedings they’ve initiated, it’s actually an effort to try to scuttle the prospects of the governor coming for a second term, and I don’t see how they will succeed.

“If you look at the so called articles of impeachment, as I said, they lack specificity in terms of the kind of infraction that they allege that the governor has committed. He has done nothing wrong, and they will see how the process will play out.

“My sense, and in fact, if I were to advise the governor, my sense is that he should just maintain the people, retain the people at the center of gravity of his administration, meet their needs, run a transparent administration as he always done, and then the truth will come out, and he will be able to defend the administration.

“I think the the governing APC should also step in because they can’t possibly allow the governor of the office with probably one of the best performance records in the country to be humiliated by some of these members of the assembly.”