PDP, APC trade accusations As INEC conducts guber, senatorial polls in Adamawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, others

By Lateef Ibrahim & Ahmed Idris

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is on the move again. After the presidential and National Assembly elections of February 25 and the Governorship and States Houses of Assembly elections of March 18, this year respectively, the Professor Mahmood Yakubu -led Commission will again file out today to conduct supplementary elections in some parts of the country.

The supplementary elections are made up of governorship polls in Adamawa and Kebbi States, 5 Senatorial Districts, 31 Federal and 58 State Assembly constituencies.

This supplementary elections were slated, weeks back, by the electoral body as announced in a statement by one of its National Commissioners and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, VEC, Barrister Festus Okoye in Abuja.

The Commission had explained that owing to the competitive nature of the elections, especially for legislative seats, supplementary elections will be held in just a few polling units in some constituencies.

The Prof Mahmood Yakubuled INEC, therfore, appealed to all political parties, candidates and stakeholders to note the date and locations of the supplementary elections.

The earlier accreditation for polling and collation agents, observers and the media, the commission said, still subsists for the supplementary elections.

It urged political parties, candidates and their supporters to see the exercise as an election and not war, stressing that they should avoid incendiary statements and negative mobilisation so that the elections can be conducted and concluded as scheduled.

Ever since the announcement of the supplementary polls, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the leading opposition party in the country, has never kept quiet in its demand that the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, of INEC in Adamawa State Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari should recuse himself from superintending and/or conducting the re-run governorship election in the State, saying that it does not have faith in him (the REC) any more.

Should the REC refuse to recuse himself, the PDP demanded that the INEC Chairman Prof, Mahmood Yakubu should immediately remove him.

The party pointed out that the call became necessary in view of grave allegations and evidence of the audio tape already in the public domain against him.

The main opposition party pointed had out that the continued stay in office of Mallam Ari as Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner amounts to pushing the people to the wall and daring them to do their worst.

The PDP added that it is provocative and unacceptable that INEC retained Mallam Ari to conduct the April 15, 2023 governorship rerun election despite being reportedly caught on tape directing the Electoral Officer of Fufore Local Government

Area of Adamawa State in Hausa Language to alter election results in favour of the defeated governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Aisha Binani.

According to the PDP, “The continued stay in office of Mallam Yunusa Ari in the face of widespread outcry by the people of Adamawa State amounts to pushing the people to the wall and daring them to do their worst.

“The PDP dismisses the lame denial of the leaked audio tape by the exposed INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner. “The basis for recusal by an umpire is the accusation of likelihood of bias.

“In this case, apart from the accusation, there is audio evidence against Mallam Yunusa Ari and he cannot by any standard superintend over the Adamawa Governorship re-run election without widespread suspicion of his actions.

“The situation around the embattled INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner is worsened by allegations of similar instructions to Electoral Officers in some other Local Government Areas of the State to manipulate the results of the election.

“In view of these grave allegations and evidence of the audio tape already in the public domain, Mallam Yunusa Ari should immediately recuse himself from superintending and/or conducting the re-run governorship election in Adamawa State on April 15, 2023”, the party insisted.

The PDP invited Nigerians to note that INEC relieved the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Sokoto State, Dr. Nura Ali of his position over allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the just concluded elections in that State.

It added, “There is therefore no justification for the continuing stay of Mallam Yunusa Ari as Resident Electoral Commissioner in Adamawa State in the face of these grave allegations except for sinister reasons.

“Nigerians can recall that the Adamawa State INEC Resident

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