THE Adamawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the Action Alliance (AA) challenging the declaration of Ahmadu Fintiri as the winner of the April 16 governorship election.
The petitioner officially withdrew the petition, resulting in the dismissal of the case during a pre-hearing sitting in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, on Friday.
Three petitions were filed against the declaration of Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner by the AA and its candidate, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Dr. Umar Ardo, as well as the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Senator Aishatu Binani Dahiru.
In addition to the charges of extensive violations of the electoral law and fraudulent voting practices, Binani contended that the court should validate Hudu Yunusa Ari’s declaration announcing her as the winner of the election.
The case of Action Alliance was dismissed after the applicant and their council filed a notice of withdrawal.
The Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate Fintiri also filed a motion asking the tribunal to dismiss the case brought by the APC and its candidate Binani.
In SDP’s case, the attorney failed to produce witnesses. The hearing has been adjourned to July 21, 2023.
On April 18, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Governor Fintiri the winner of what some might describe as a drama-filled supplementary election in Adamawa State.
In the rerun, Fintiri polled 9,337 votes, besting Senator Aishatu ‘Binani’ Dahiru of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 6,513 votes.
At the end of the entire exercise, Fintiri polled 430,861 votes, defeating Binani, who got 398,738 votes.
