Dismissed Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in Adamawa State, Hudu Ari, has broken his silence on the 2023 governorship election in Adamawa State.

DAILY NIGERIAN reports that Mr Ari had sparked confusion after declaring the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Aisha Dahiru-Binani, as the winner of the polls before the conclusion of collation of results in some local government areas.

The result was immediately overturned by the national headquarters of the INEC.

But speaking on the issue for the time, Mr Ari justified his actions, saying he had incontrovertible evidence that Mrs Binani defeated the incumbent governor, Umaru Fintiri.

He made the revelation in a chat with journalists at his residence in Bauchi on Sunday.

While holding a copy of a Holy Quran, Mr Ari said he took the decision in good faith and in accordance with the electoral guidelines.

He accused a staff of the commission of receiving huge amounts from Mr Fintiri to compromise the electoral process.

Mr Ari lamented that both the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmud Yakubu, and the Election Tribunal dismissed all his evidence against the irregularities in the controversial governorship election.

He said: “It came to my notice that my head of ICT, Bala Aji, conducted himself, not in the manner of a good civil servant, or an honest civil servant, as far as the elections were concerned. He surrendered election documents, about 20,000 copies, to the Governor of Adamawa State.

“We received a report, myself, the Commissioner of Police, and all the paramilitary agencies operating in Adamawa State. We went to that place; it’s a private house of the governor.

“We went there, it took us time to open that door. The door was opened, we met the SSG and some government officials.”

“We met them working directly, directly with these documents. These documents cover the whole of the state. So, we wrote a report. This is what is happening. And not only that, Bala Aji (ICT Head of INEC in Adamawa) misappropriated some of our papers. He took them somewhere, and the worst of it, on the day of the election.

“Bala Aji, the ICT head, was busy dashing away BVAS. He was giving our staff money in foreign currency. The thought came to me, I was shocked. To me, it’s an abuse of his own responsibility.

“So, I called him, I took strides against all that had happened, all the allegations against him. So, I expected the headquarters to respond quickly.

“They should have acted on those vote-buying. So, they should have immediately come in and let us know about it. It would be the next line of action.

“Unfortunately, the report that I had sent (to INEC HQs) was swept under the carpet. This is one of the most unforgettable experiences I have ever had.”

He further claimed that he was not given a fair hearing to present his evidence.

While reacting to his sack by President Bola Tinubu, Mr Ari said he is consulting his family on whether to seek legal redress or not.

“My sack by the President did not bother me, but the media trial has dented my image. I did not collect N2 billion from any politician.

“We are Nigerians, Nigeria belongs to all of us, it behoves on us to either make or mar it. This is very important, and we must all choose what to do with it.

“I conducted the presidential and NASS elections successfully and was in the process of the gubernatorial and state assembly elections when the problem began. It was in 69 polling units.”