Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described the purported declaration of Adamawa governorship election results as a game plan to upturn the democratic wishes of the people in the state.

Mr Abubakar noted this in a statement by his media aide Paul Ibe on Sunday.

He said the initial decision of INEC’s resident electoral commissioner in Adamawa, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, to declare the APC candidate, Aisha Binani, as the winner of the election was a case study in the shambolic nature of the 2023 polls in general.

“Here in Adamawa, we are witnesses to a novel practice in election management where a resident electoral commissioner announced the loser of an election as a winner. It is not in doubt that INEC has approached the Adamawa State election with a pre-set agenda of declaring the APC at all costs,” said the statement.

It added, “It is, therefore, on this note that we wish to call the attention of the world to the scheme being perpetrated by INEC to compromise the electoral wishes of the people of Adamawa state.”

The statement said such behaviour by INEC had negative consequences on society, pointing out that people had seen how INEC conducted the February 25 and March 18 elections against the run of play and later challenged candidates to go to court.

The statement alleged that the same INEC official pressured the returning officer to manipulate the contentious Fufore LGA results in the March 18 governorship election.

“We demand the immediate resumption of the collation of results and its finalisation today. It is also our demand that the Adamawa REC and any other parties complicit in this treasonable act should be arrested immediately and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” it explained, noting that this will serve as a deterrent to anti-democratic forces who “may want to torpedo our democracy and provoke violence in our country.”

Mr Yunusa-Ari had declared Ms Binani as the winner midway into the collation.

Reports indicate that results from 10 of the 20 local government areas had been declared while the exercise was adjourned until 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.

However, Mr Yunusa-Ari announced the final result an hour before the scheduled time. 

(NAN)