Aisha ‘Binani’ Dahiru, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Adamawa, has denied allegations that she gave a N2 billion bribe to an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official to be declared the winner of the state’s governorship election. Following the suspension of the collation of election results, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari, prematurely declared Binani the winner, leading to claims that she had bribed INEC officials.
INEC nullified Yunusa-Ari’s declaration, stating that announcing a winner is the responsibility of the returning officer, and eventually declared Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the rightful winner. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Binani described the allegations as “bizarre, unfounded, and wild,” emphasizing that she is a committed democrat and has never sought to subvert the democratic process.
Binani thanked her supporters for their unwavering support amidst “half-truths and opposition smear propaganda” and called on lovers of democracy to take a deeper interest in Nigeria’s electoral process and democracy, not just in Adamawa but throughout the country.
