A civil society group under the aegis of Concerned Civil Society Organizations has given insights about why the gubernatorial candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), in Adamawa State, Sen. Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani, must be arrested.
At an emergency meeting in Kaduna on Sunday, the group’s national coordinator, Ibrahim Mada, said based on circumstantial evidence, it is clear that Binani is a willing partner in the attempted coup d’etat against democracy in Adamawa state.
Mada, who commended the police for arresting the “rogue REC,” also urged the police to extend the dragnet to Binani because she has a case to answer following her surreptitious acceptance speech.
“We must commend the police for arresting the rogue REC, whose official misconduct has given the electoral umpire a bad name and whose travesty will remain a reference point in odium.
“We call on the police to extend its dragnet to Binani because it is apparent she played a critical role in the subversion of the will of the Adamawa people, which is treasonable,” he said.
It could be recalled that during the supplementary election for the governorship seat in Adamawa State, Mr. Hudu Ari, the REC clandestinely moved to the governorship collation center in cahoots with some willing security operatives and announced Binani as the winner of the election in very controversial circumstances, an action that nearly jeopardized the peace and harmony being enjoyed in the state.
Shortly after Hudu Ari’s declaration, Senator Binani went on air and read a well-prepared acceptance speech.
But in order to restore its hard-earned image, INEC later countered Mr. Hudu Ari’s declaration, saying that he is not constitutionally empowered to declare Binani as Governor-Elect, as the electoral umpire noted that the function clearly rests with the Returning Officer.
Apart from rendering Hudu Ari’s action inconsequential, INEC ordered the REC to return to Abuja for debriefing, an order he declined. However, the candidate he declared the winner of the inconclusive poll, Binani, went to court to protect her mandate willy-nilly.
Based on these happenings, Mada opined that there is an uncanny nexus between the actions of the disgraced INEC official and Senator Binani, which calls for critical scrutiny.
“How Binani knew that she would be declared the winner and prepared a lengthy speech, which she read less than thirty minutes after Ari’s declaration, leaves much to be desired,” he said.
The activist also wondered why Binani, who is a lawmaker, chose to ignore the facts on the ground suggesting that the embattled REC’s actions were illegal and went ahead to accept his poisoned chalice.
He added that as a lawmaker, Binani knows the implications of Ari’s action, but she went along with him because she wanted to be the governor of the state by hook or by crook.
Again, there are strong allegations making the rounds that over N2 billion exchanged hands amongst some critical personnel of the commission to facilitate the illegal declaration of Binani as Governor of Adamawa State. Mada noted that based on the foregoing, it is compelling for the federal government to take strong steps in unraveling what led to the attempt to subvert democracy in the state and who are the dramatis personae in the civil version of a coup attempt.
