Adamawa Guber: Fresh twist as APC’s Binani seeks judicial review of her declaration as winner

Senator Aisha Binani Dahiru, the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) candidate for governor of Adamawa, and the Party have filed an exparte motion with the Federal High Court in Abuja asking for a judicial review of the administrative decision made by the Independent National Electoral Commision (INEC) on April 16 regarding the declaration of her as the victor of the March 18 and April 15 elections.

Remember that Binani’s declaration as the victor of the governorship election by the state’s resident electoral commissioner, Hudu Yususa, on Sunday was accompanied by controversy.

But INEC jumped in right away, declaring the declaration to be invalid.

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On Monday, Yususa, the REC, was subsequently suspended.

But Senator Binani, dissatisfied with INEC’s action, has petitioned the court for an order of prohibition and certiorari prohibiting the Commision and its officers from taking any further actions towards the declaration of the election’s winner while her request for judicial review is being processed.

An application copy was filed in accordance with Order 34 Rules 1a, Order 3(1) & 3(2) a, b, c, Order 6 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure Rules) 2019, Section 251 (1)q & r of the 1999 Constitution, and Sections 149 & 152 of the Electoral Act 2022.

The application pointed out that because INEC is the only court with the authority to do so from the conduct of an election, its cancellation of the initial declaration amounts to it usurping the authority of the election petition.

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However, on Monday, the Peoples Democratic Party, or PDP, organised a protest and urged INEC to keep compiling results.