Gov. Fintiri delivers acceptance speech, apologises to Adamawa people
Governor-elect of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, has apologised to the citizens of the state for what he described as “psychological trauma” brought upon them by the events that characterised the supplementary poll in the state.
After the illegal announcement of Aisha Dahiru Binani as the governor-elect, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the Adamawa State governorship election on Tuesday.
Declaring Fintiri as the winner, the Returning Officer, Muhammed Melee, said the PDP candidate polled 430,861 votes to defeat his major counterpart, Aishatu Binani, of the All Progressives Congress who polled 398,788 votes.
Neptune Prime reports that on Sunday, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Ari, wrongfully declared Binani as the winner of the election while counting of vote was still going on.
INEC immediately stopped the collation process and suspended Ari as Adamawa REC, while ordering him to stay away from the Commission’s offices.
Later on, INEC reopened the collation centre and Fintiri was eventually declared winner.
In his acceptance speech on Tuesday, Fintiri apologised for the “trauma” his supporters went through during the period.
“Fellow citizens, I must as a politician apologise on behalf of the political class for putting you through this psychological trauma … especially over the last five days,” he told supporters in Adamawa during a press conference shortly after he was declared the winner.
According to him, whoever was responsible for the situation, “That person is still being called a politician, and I take responsibility for it.”
He said he would continue in the trajectory of governance he had started in the state.
While congratulating his co-contenders for their struggle in the governorship race, Fintiri condemned the action of Hudu who had earlier declared Binani as the winner of the election.
He said the action of the REC, “fell below expectation,” and thanked the people of Adamawa “for voting for continuity.”