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Barring further unforeseen circumstances, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will announce the results of the controversial and dramatic Adamawa State governorship election, on Thursday, Vanguard has learned.

The INEC will between Tuesday and Wednesday meet as a “Commission” on the matter, National Commissioner and Chairman of information and Voter Education Committee, Dr Festus Okoye, said.

The Commission had on Monday suspended its Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Mr. Hudu Yunusa-Ari for usurping the powers of the Chief Returning Officer and unilaterally returning the All Progressives Congress, APC, Candidate, Senator Aisha Dahiru Binani, as duly elected when collation had not been concluded sparking a controversy.

The declaration of election results is the responsibility of the returning officer, and not the resident electoral commissioner. The INEC summoned the REC and Mele Lamido, returning officer in the election, to its headquarters in Abuja.

At the time the REC announced Binani as winner of the poll, results of the supplementary election from 10 LGAs were yet to be collated.

From the results collated on Saturday, Ahmadu Fintiri, Adamawa State governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was in the lead.

Apart from nullifying Yunusa-Ari’s declaration, the commission, yesterday, barred the REC from its office as PDP members and supporters protested in the state and issued the electoral umpire a 72- hour ultimatum to announce the results.

This was as a group of Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, described the political drama associated with the supplementary election in Adamawa State as an attempt to derail Nigeria’s democracy and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene.

Of the 26 states where governorship polls were held, Adamawa is the only one yet to be concluded.

The first election on March 18 was declared inconclusive alongside Kebbi.

However, the other supplementary polls were concluded on April 15 while that of Adamawa ran into a fresh crisis following the action of the suspended REC.

INEC to meet Tuesday or Wednesday

Asked when the coalition would resume following the REC’s suspension, Okoye said, “the commission” would have to meet first and fix a date for continuation of the exercise.

A meeting of “the commission” entails a gathering of the INEC Chairman and the 12 national commissioners.

According to Okoye, most of the national commissioners were deployed to the states to monitor last weekend’s supplementary elections, explaining that they were on their way back to Abuja.

“The commission will have to meet as a Commission to take a decision on that. The National Commissioners were deployed in various states. One was sent to Kebbi, one to Oyo, one to Sokoto, another to Rivers and so on. They are on their way to Abuja.

If they get to Abuja tonight (Monday), then the commission may likely meet on Tuesday and decide on the date to continue with the collation,” Okoye said.

By Nasir Ahmadu Bello.

Abdulmumin Jibrin, a lawmaker-elect, has debunked reports that he did not resign as the Executive Director, Research, Innovation and Development of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).

The governing board of FHA had claimed that Jibrin was dismissed over alleged gross misconduct.

Jibrin, however, said, he had resigned long ago, describing the dismissal as “unfounded, null and void”.

His letter of resignation made available to our correspondent on Thursday night showed that he resigned from FHA on December 15, 2021

The letter reads: “Permit me to refer to your letter dated 24th July 2020 confirming my appointment as Executive Director Business Development, Federal Housing Authority by Mr. President.

In this regard sir, I have the honour to respectfully thank the President and Commander in Chief, Federal Republic of Nigeria, for the honour bestowed me to serve the country in this capacity.

“Regrettably, the time has come where at this juncture, I respectfully tender my resignation as Executive Director Business Development, as I am not allowed to carry out the functions assigned to me by Mr. President as contained in my letter of appointment.

This is as a result of undue interference from supervisory Authority and board as well as misleading the government as seen in the implementation of inconsistent policies and irregularities to serve narrow interests.

All these continue to provide the Managing Director the latitude to abuse office and public trust unchecked.

“I have repeatedly followed laid down processes of complaint, with no response, instead, I have suffered victimization while these negative practices impugning on the integrity and interest of the Authority and nation continues unabated.

It would be against every principle I behold to continue to work under such conditions and against the tenets of government accountability and public interest. As such, I cannot in good conscience continue to remain in office under these circumstances.

“I sincerely thank Mr. President and the Federal Government for the confidence impose on me. Over the last decade I have served this country in different capacity including as elected member of the National Assembly where I served as Chairman Finance and appropriation simultaneously. It is on record several patriotic stands I took in addition to huge personal sacrifice I made in public interest.

As I resign to focus on community work, politics and my private business, I pledge to continue to serve this nation as may be required, please.”‘

The lawmaker also showed evidence that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation acknowledged and accepted his resignation on December 20, 2021.

Hoodlums guided by suspected armed security men on Saturday disrupted and snatched the ballot box at Umuarusi Amandugba hall in the Isu local government area of Imo state.

Vanguard was at the scene when about five thugs invaded the polling units at about 09:19 Am.

The thugs invaded the area despite the heavy presence of security men.

However, voters have expressed fears over the security armored vehicle patrolling the area before the snatching of the box.

One of them, who introduced himself as Chibuike, said: “We are afraid.

“You saw how they snatched the ballot box with security people around and you will know it was planned.

“We are afraid and we are not safe. How can an election be conducted with an armoured vehicle? This is wrong.”

A woman reacts in front of a partially destroyed residential building, after a shelling in Sloviansk, on April 14, 2023, amid Russia’s military invasion on Ukraine.

– Russian shelling of a residential building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk killed at least five people on April 14, the local governor said, warning that others could be buried in the rubble. (Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV / AFP)

Russia shelled a block of flats in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, killing nine people, authorities said Saturday, including a two-year-old boy who was rescued from the rubble but died on his way to hospital.

Friday’s strike on the quiet neighbourhood came as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill that will make it easier to mobilise citizens into the army and block them from fleeing the country if drafted.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has disclosed that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, is currently taking a rest in Europe and reaching out to heads of government ahead of his inauguration on May 29.

Felix Morka, National Publicity Secretary of the ruling party, stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.

Morka noted that Tinubu was doing well and will swing into action immediately after he returns from Europe.

Morka said, “He is probably in Europe. He’s fine. After the elections and all of the energy expended, he just decided to take a moment of rest.

“Once he returns and is inaugurated on May 29, there will be no dulling. He’ll be saddled with the responsibility of running a country as massive and complex as Nigeria. I know he’ll be back in the country very shortly.”

Morka also noted that Tinubu is also reaching out to heads of government and other levels of leadership of other countries that are vital to the agenda he’s bringing in his new government.

Morka added, “So, he’s not sleeping in his bed; he’s also in meetings regularly with all kinds of people who are travelling from other countries to see him preparatory to his inauguration. So, it’s a working visit.”

Oppositions have heightened Tinubu’s absence as many critics are pushing the narrative that he is being treated for an undisclosed ailment.

By Yasir Adamu.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has attributed the epileptic power supply, being experienced in Kano State to the company’s inability to rectify a fault on one of its 330KVA lines that feed the Kaduna and Kano states due to activities of bandits in Birnin Gwari Forest.

General Manager, TCN, Kano region, Alh. Bashir Muhammad Gote while speaking with newsmen at his office in Kano, said access to the faulty line has become difficult due to activities of bandits occupying the forest, as there is fear of possible attack on the TCN’s technical staff as recorded in the past, leading to the loss of lives of both security men and staff of the company.

Gote said, “We are having poor power supply in Kano due to a fault on the line supplying power to Kaduna and Kano from Shiroro Dam.

“Our major challenge at the moment is how to patrol the Birning Gwari Forest in Kaduna due to fear of gunmen who hides there and once attacked our staff and security men who accompanied them when we had a similar case in the past.

“This problem has reduced supply to the state to 200MW only.

“I assure you that the company is doing everything possible to rectify the issue. We are strategizing on how to tackle the problem and return the line to the grid,” Gote said.

General Manager continued when he warned those encroaching its right-of-way by erecting structures under high-tension wires to desist from the act for their own safety in order to avoid unfortunate incidences associated with such.

“We are calling on those encroaching on our right of ways to vacate for their own safety. Their action is exposing them to danger. Electricity has a magnetic field, if only they know the load on such high-tension lines, they will not stay there.

“In fact, their activities prevent us from carrying out surveillance for proper maintenance and we have put in place, the mechanism by setting up a committee which comprises the District Heads to address this issue of continuous encroachment.