Hudu Ari, the dismissed Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Adamawa State, has finally spoken out about the 2023 governorship election in the state.
Ari caused a stir when he prematurely declared Aisha Dahiru-Binani, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, as the winner of the election before the collation of results from some local government areas was completed.
This announcement was quickly overturned by INEC’s national headquarters.
In his first public comments on the matter, Ari defended his actions, claiming he had irrefutable evidence that Binani had defeated the incumbent governor, Umaru Fintiri.
He shared these details during an interview with journalists at his residence in Bauchi on Sunday.
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Holding a copy of the Holy Quran, Ari explained that he made the decision in good faith and in line with the electoral guidelines.
He also accused a staff member of the commission of accepting large sums of money from Fintiri to manipulate the election process.
Ari expressed his frustration, stating that both INEC Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu, and the Election Tribunal dismissed all the evidence he presented regarding irregularities in the contentious governorship election.
He said: “It came to my notice that my head of ICT, Bala Aji, conducted himself, not in the manner of a good civil servant, or an honest civil servant, as far as the elections were concerned. He surrendered election documents, about 20,000 copies, to the Governor of Adamawa State.
“We received a report, myself, the Commissioner of Police, and all the paramilitary agencies operating in Adamawa State. We went to that place; it’s a private house of the governor.
“We went there, it took us time to open that door. The door was opened, we met the SSG and some government officials.”
“We met them working directly, directly with these documents. These documents cover the whole of the state. So, we wrote a report. This is what is happening. And not only that, Bala Aji (ICT Head of INEC in Adamawa) misappropriated some of our papers. He took them somewhere, and the worst of it, on the day of the election.
“Bala Aji, the ICT head, was busy dashing away BVAS. He was giving our staff money in foreign currency. The thought came to me, I was shocked. To me, it’s an abuse of his own responsibility.
“So, I called him, I took strides against all that had happened, all the allegations against him. So, I expected the headquarters to respond quickly.
“They should have acted on those vote-buying. So, they should have immediately come in and let us know about it. It would be the next line of action.
“Unfortunately, the report that I had sent (to INEC HQs) was swept under the carpet. This is one of the most unforgettable experiences I have ever had.”
He also alleged that he was not afforded a fair opportunity to present his evidence.
In response to his dismissal by President Bola Tinubu, Ari stated that he is currently discussing with his family whether or not to pursue legal action.
“My sack by the President did not bother me, but the media trial has dented my image. I did not collect N2 billion from any politician.
“We are Nigerians, Nigeria belongs to all of us, it behoves on us to either make or mar it. This is very important, and we must all choose what to do with it.
“I conducted the presidential and NASS elections successfully and was in the process of the gubernatorial and state assembly elections when the problem began. It was in 69 polling units.”
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