Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party has been reelected in Adamawa.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, announced that Mr Finitri polled 430,821 votes to defeat Aishatu ‘Binani’ Ahmed of the All Progressives Congress, who scored 396,788 votes.

Mr Fintiri’s victory followed weeks of intense political activity and controversy between him and Ms Ahmed, who was seeking to make history as the first elected female governor in Nigeria.

The election was initially held on March 18, but it was postponed for a supplementary exercise on April 15 because Mr Fintiri was leading with just 31,000 votes, a margin INEC said triggered a run-off because it was lower than over 37,000 eligible voters in places where violence and disruptions caused cancellations on March 18.

But as counting got underway to finalise the exercise on April 16, Adamawa resident electoral commission Hudu Yunusa Ari suddenly, and without any official figures, declared Ms Binani as the winner of the election.

His action was immediately denounced by INEC headquarters in Abuja, which also suspended him and asked the police to prosecute him for the illegal conduct. Mr Yunusa Ari’s whereabouts remained unknown as of Tuesday afternoon.

Returning officer Muhammad Laminu Mele, a professor and deputy vice chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, made the final announcement on the election on Tuesday afternoon, clearing the path for Mr Fintiri’s second term of four years as the governor of the northeastern state.