Nigeria's hopes of getting her first female governor fades as Adamawa poll is declared inconclusive

NIGERIA'S hopes of getting her first ever female state governor have been put on hold for now as the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) has declared the Adamawa State gubernatorial election inconclusive.

In Adamawa State, Senator Aishatu Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in involved in tough fight with incumbent Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Senator Binani has been hoping to create history by becoming Nigeria's first ever elected governor but Inec is unable to declare a winner rue to the number of contested votes in the contest.

So far, Senator Aishatu Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, scored 390, 275 votes while Governor Fintiri, polled 421,524 votes. According to Professor Muhammed Mele, the returning officer, the margin of win between the leading two parties was lower than the number of collected permanent voters cards (PVC) in places where the election did not hold.

Making the final announcement at the end of collation, Professor Mele indicated, amidst a rowdy crowd of PDP agents and supporters who opposed the declaration, that a repeat election will be held in the affected places. He added that there were 69 polling units where elections were cancelled and therefore affected no fewer than 37,016 potential voters with PVCs in those units.

PDP agent Dr Aliyu Idi-Hong, who kicked against the declaration of the election as inconclusive, claimed the grounds relied on by the returning officer in declaring the results as inconclusive was not tenable. He added that those affected were not more than 7,000 registered voters in the areas where elections were cancelled and the cancellation were purely based on over-voting.

Dr Hong said: “Their notion of inconclusive is criminal. It is deliberate collusion and it also proved one thing that this election result has always been decreed to be stolen.”

He, accused the APC and Inec officials of colluding to steal the elections in Adamawa State at all costs. Leading with a margin of 31,249, Governor Fintiri is on course to get re-elected as Senator Dahiru would need to sweep the votes in a supplementary poll to win.