The Adamawa State Governorship Electoral Petitions Tribunal denied Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani’s case against Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri on Saturday.
In her petition contesting the electoral body’s conduct of the governorship election in the Adamawa governorship polls on March 18, 2023, Senator Binani, the All Progressives Congress’ candidate for governor, asked the court to overturn the declaration of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri as the elected governor of Adamawa.
In her appeal, Binani requested that the Adamawa governorship election be canceled due to violations of the electoral legislation. NEC, Fintiri, and the People’s Democratic Party were the first, second, and third respondents, respectively.
In her ruling, the tribunal’s chairman, T. O. Uloho, rejected Sen. Binani’s petition and upheld Governor Umaru Fintiri’s election as the governor of Adamawa, which was held on March 18.
Declaring that the petitioner had “worrisomely failed to establish their allegations of non-compliance with the electoral act and prove their case with cogent, credible, and satisfactory evidence,” Uloho, the head judge for the three-person panel, dismissed the petition.
The tribunal additionally stated in its ruling that all of the petitioners’ witnesses provided documentary hearsay and were unable to establish their case beyond a reasonable doubt, thereby holding that the court is an adjudicator rather than an investigator.
Remember that the Adamawa governorship election was ruled inconclusive at first, and a supplementary poll was held to conclude it. On April 18, INEC pronounced Governor Fintiri the winner.
Muhammad Mele, the INEC returning officer, pronounced Fintiri the PDP winner after he received 430,861 votes, defeating Aisha Binani, the All Progressives Congress, who received 398,788 votes.
However, Governor Fintiri praised the judiciary in his response to the tribunal’s decision upholding his election.
The governor claims that justice is not a commodity that can be bought or sold, as the judiciary has demonstrated time and time again in its function as an arbiter.
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