Senator Ishaku Abbo (APC-Adamawa North) says the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no power to annul the declaration of Aisha Dahiru Binani as the state governor-elect.

Controversy swept through the polity Sunday morning when rogue electoral chief in Adamawa, Hudu Yunisa-Ari, abruptly declared the APC candidate, Mrs Binani winner of the governorship poll while the collation of results from Saturday’s supplementary election was yet to be completed. 

INEC then promptly declared the action of its top official “null, void and of no effects”, suspending the collation process altogether and summoning Mr Ari and other officials to the headquarters in Abuja.

Senator Abbo, however, disagreed with the electoral body, saying the amended Electoral Act 2022 prevented INEC from undoing Mr Ari’s illegal declaration.

“They cannot suspend collation,” Mr Abbo said on Channels TV Monday morning. “INEC cannot nullify an election that has been announced, they don’t have that power.”

He stressed, “Elections have been announced, it is out of their hands. The result has been announced by the REC. Section 65 does not operate in isolation, there is section 149.”

In citing the Electoral Act, the senator failed to recognise that INEC, based on section 65 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022, has the power to review and change any result declarations on or before seven days from when the results were declared.

Section 65 of the amended Electoral Act 2022 states in part that “the Commission shall have the power within seven days to review the declaration and return where the Commission determines that the said declaration and return was not made voluntarily or was made contrary to the provisions of the law, regulations and guidelines, and manual for the election.”