Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, has refuted allegations that she bribed an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Binani’s denial came after reports surfaced that she had offered N2 billion to INEC officials in order to be announced as the winner of the just-concluded governorship election.
The March 18 election had been declared inconclusive by INEC after citing alleged irregularities. A supplementary election was then conducted on Saturday, and the collation of the results was suspended until Sunday after the announcement of the results from 10 local government areas (LGAs).
However, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC in Adamawa, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, declared Binani as the winner before the results from the remaining LGAs had been announced.
INEC subsequently canceled the exercise and described the REC’s action as null and void, stating that the declaration of a winner is the responsibility of the returning officer.
On Tuesday, INEC resumed the collation of election results in the state, and Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was announced as the winner.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening, Binani denied giving money to INEC officials calling the allegations, “bizarre”, unfounded and wild allegations”.
“I wish to reiterate that I am a Democrat. I have always been a committed Democrat and will never do anything to subvert the democratic process. I am not a do-or-die politician. In the past, I have won elections into the House of Representatives and the Senate in a free and fair manner,” Binani said.
“What happened in Adamawa was an unsuccessful attempt to subvert the will of the people. The REC was illegally told to stand down by two INEC national commissioners from Abuja who were supposed to be in Adamawa in a supervisory capacity.
‘Even more curious is the nocturnal visit of some INEC national officers to the Adamawa state government house and the bizarre declaration the same day after the visit that they have taken over the collation through the backdoor with the collation and returning officers selected by the governor of Adamawa.”
Binani called on all lovers of democracy to take a deeper interest in the electoral process and democracy not only in Adamawa but in the whole country. She thanked her supporters for their unflinching support in the face of “half-truths and opposition smear propaganda”.
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