The Adamawa State Government has vehemently rejected claims made by the dismissed Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa Ari, who recently stated that Senator Aisha Binani won the 2023 gubernatorial election in the state.
In a statement issued on February 9, 2025, by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Solomon Kumangar, the state government described Ari’s assertion as false and unfounded. Kumangar stressed that Ari, who has since become a fugitive, lacked the legal authority to make any declaration regarding the election results.
“Hudu Ari, as a REC, lacked the power whatsoever and in any material particular to make a declaration in any election conducted in Adamawa,” Kumangar said. “The provisions of the Electoral laws ensure that every election has a returning officer, who is an ad-hoc staff member of the commission.”
Kumangar also referred to Ari’s repeated claim that Binani, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won the election, a claim that has been widely disputed and discredited. He added that the dismissed REC had previously made the same false statement and had failed to provide any evidence to substantiate it.
“Hudu was caught on tape begging a local government returning officer to help a woman. He further claimed the directive was from above. Despite Hudu’s rhetoric, he could not provide any evidence of the result he used in the illegal declaration,” Kumangar said. “No INEC REC could return a candidate. The regulations are unambiguous on this matter.”
Furthermore, the statement clarified that Ari had not been prevented from testifying at the election petition tribunal. Kumangar explained that the petitioner’s side had withdrawn Ari from testifying, recognizing that the REC lacked the authority to make an election return.
“If Hudu claims he was prevented from appearing in court, he should please come out of hiding, as there is still a pending case before him at the Adamawa State High Court; this is an avenue for him to come clean,” Kumangar added.
The state government reiterated that there was no legitimate basis for Ari’s continued claim that Binani won the 2023 governorship election, urging him to cease making false statements.