All INEC national commissioners in closed-door meeting over Adamawa guber poll

All National Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday were in a closed-door meeting at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

This is coming barely 24 hours after the electoral umpire ordered the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Adamawa State, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, to stay away from the commission’s state office.

INEC’s action was premised on Yunusa-Ari’s declaration of the All Progressives Congress governorship (APC) candidate, Aisha Dahiru, popularly known as Binani as the governor-elect in Saturday’s supplementary election.

The commission also barred the REC from coming to the office in a letter signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Rose Oriaran-Anthony.

NewsWireNGR reports that Binani, through her lawyer, Hussaini Zakariyau, SAN, had sought a judicial review of the administrative decision of INEC on April 16 in respect of her declaration as the winner of the governorship elections held on March 18 and the supplementary poll of April 15.

She is also seeking an order of prohibition and certiorari preventing INEC and its agents from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the winner of the elections pending the determination of her application for judicial review.

The application was brought pursuant to Order 34 Rules 1a, Order 3(1) & 3(2) a, b, c, Order 6 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure Rules), 2019 and Section 251 (1)q & r of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Section 149 & 152 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

Giving grounds why the motion should be granted, Dahiru stated that after the collation of results, INEC declared her as the winner of the elections but the PDP and its candidate, Governor Fintiri, resorted to fighting and causing a public disturbance which led to the beating and manhandling of an INEC staff.

This crisis, she said, led INEC to cancel the initial declaration which it had no power to do as only the election petition tribunal is vested with such powers.

By canceling her declaration, Dahiru contended that INEC usurped the powers of the election petition tribunal which is the only court vested with powers on a declaration from the conduct of an election.

In the application, she averred that a judicial review exists to enable the superior court to checkmate the actions and decisions of inferior courts as well as the legislative and administrative arm of government including agencies and public officers.

The applicant further submits that the INEC, being an agency of the government, can have its actions, records, and decisions checked by the court and only a court can nullify the actions of an INEC official and not the INEC itself.