Former Adamawa resident electoral commissioner (REC) Hudu Yunusa-Ari has been urged by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to present his case in court rather than at a news conference.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, the chief press secretary (CPS) to INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, stated in an interview with NAN on Monday that the commission would not comment on the lawsuit against Yunusa-Ari since it is still pending.
President Bola Tinubu’s proposal to fire Yunusa-Ari and the suspended RECs of Abia and Sokoto states for suspected improper conduct was approved by the Senate on February 5.
In April 2023, Yunusa-Ari declared Aisha Binani Dahiru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Adamawa state governorship supplementary poll when the collation of the results was yet to be completed.
Photo: Sumaila Ibrahim/BJO/NAN
On April 20, 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the suspension of the Adamawa REC pending the completion of an investigation by the police.
On July 6, 2024, INEC filed a six-count charge against Yunusa-Ari before a high court in Yola, Adamawa state capital.
Last Saturday, Yunusa-Ari, at a press conference, said the electoral commission did not allow him to defend himself.
The sacked REC had insisted that Binani won the 2023 Adamawa governorship election.
Reacting to the development, Oyekanmi said Yunusa-Ari now has the opportunity to prove his case in court since he has returned to the country.
“In response to your request, our attention has also been drawn to the interview granted by the former REC of Adamawa State, Yunusa-Ari. There is nothing new in what he said,” Oyekanmi said.
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“In any case, the substantive matter of the 2023 Adamawa state governorship election has been determined through the appropriate judicial process from the trial tribunal to the appeal tribunal and finally settled by the supreme court.
“The commission will not comment on the propriety or otherwise of his conduct during the concluding part of the election, as the matter is right now the subject of litigation at the high court sitting in Yola and, therefore, sub judice.
“Now that he is back in the country, the right place to prove his innocence and the propriety of his action is by availing himself of the due process of law and not a press conference.”
