The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issued certificates of return to the Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, and his deputy, Professor Kaletapwa Farauta, following the conclusion of supplementary elections nationwide and the announcement of winners.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the presentation ceremony took place on Wednesday in Abuja and was attended by Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.
Fintiri, who emerged victorious in the governorship election, expressed his readiness to shoulder more responsibilities after receiving his certificate of return. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate defeated Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with 430,861 votes against 398,788 votes.
It is worth noting that the initial election conducted on March 18 was declared inconclusive by INEC, prompting a supplementary election on April 15. However, controversy arose during the collation of the supplementary election results when the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, declared Binani the winner of the election. Mele Lamido, the returning officer who was absent at the time, is the only one authorized by law to declare the winner of the election.
This development prompted INEC to suspend the collation exercise and ask Yunusa-Ari to stay away from the office pending an investigation. Ultimately, Fintiri was declared the winner of the election, and the certificates of return were presented to him and his deputy on Wednesday.
