AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Aishatu Ahmed Dahiru, also known as Binani, a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; representing Adamawa Central and the APC Governorship candidate in the state is certainly of a strong political class. She may eventually play a prominent role in the immediate next political dispensation.

Though, INEC declared Adamawa state gubernatorial elections incconclusive, Binani may not win the race because the incumbent Governor Ahmadu Umar Fintiri, aside leading with over 31, 000 votes is upbeat of getting more vote in the rescheduled elections.. The concerned poling units are said to be his strong hold. A rerun between the duos is slated for Saturday, 15, April, 2023

Born on 11 August 1971, Binani was formerly a member of the House of Representatives representing Yola North/Yola South/Girei federal constituency as a member of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in the 7th Assembly between 2011 and 2015.

Married to Professor Ahmed Modibbo, former Chairman of Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, Binani was alleged of anti-party activities leading to her defection to the APC in 2019 where she contested and won the Senate seat.

In 2022, she won the APC governorship ticket in Adamawa State by defeating six male candidates and political heavyweights including former Presidential candidate, Nuhu Ribadu. Although, a federal high court initially quashed her nomination, an appeal tribunal later reinstated her as a candidate. Nonetheless, the division created by her emergence as party members alleged manipulations of the primary elections, her campaign was backed by APC bigwigs.

During the electioneering, some Adamawa APC members alleged Binani of marginalization, noting that they were not carried along in the campaign process. They specifically queried the expenditures of the campaign funds.

As the Chairperson of Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, SDG, Binani was also alleged to have donated over 3000 bags of rice to some residents of Adamawa state. This generated series of controversy as Adamawa residents alleged her of presenting the items in her name instead of declaring those items were sent by the federal government through her office as SDG Chairperson.

Few days to the election of 18th March, 2023, a petition was submitted to Yola South chapter of the APC, raising series of allegations against the APC Guber candidate. Thereafter, all executive members of Yola South APC signed an invitation to Binani to appear and answer allegations contained in the petition but the guber candidate failed to honor the invitation. This did not go well with some members of the party as they termed it “an act of arrogance on the part of their representative”.

Undoubtedly, the Adamawa APC went to the poll with sharp divisions leading to it abysmal performance at the guber elections. The party’s main challenger, PDP were so strong and united that despite the huge resources and an alleged “federal might” polled 401. 115 to defeat APC with 365,498. This is with margin of 35.617.

Of course the Fufore’s crisis emanated from various social media publications declaring Binani as the winner of the guber race even when collations were still on going.

In a twitter handle, Binani4Governor, the APC was declared winner with exhibitions of fake results, giving Binani 406,617 against INEC official results.

In a move seen by PDP as a breach to the constitutional provisions, a spokesman for the APC, Bayo Onanuga falsely announced that the party’s governorship candidate in Adamawa state had become the country’s first elected female governor. “Congrats Aisha Binani for being Nigeria’s first elected female state governor. We all love you for opening new frontier for all Nigerian women (sic),” This was a tweet shared on March 19, 2023 and retweeted more than 380 times.

The PDP described such announcements as illegal, calling on INEC and law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators. The party’s State Returning Officer, protested against such illegality at the State Collation Center in Yola. The state was about to be thrown into violence when soldiers were deployed to major cities.

The ruling party in the state, PDP has always alleged Binani of getting undue advantage from both the presidency and the country’s electoral umpire. During the electioneering, an Adamawa based group, Network of Community Development Association, NCDA petitioned INEC that the APC guber candidate should be disqualified over her involvement in the printing of Elections Results Sheets contract. The group called on anti-graft agencies to investigate and unravel what they termed as alleged favoritism and corruption in giving out such sensitive contract to a politician who is also seeking elective position.

The group alleged APC guber candidate who is the founder of Binani Nigeria Limited, the Binani Group of Companies of hobnobbing with INEC and the presidency in other to rig gubernatorial elections in Adamawa State.

Group Seeks Disqualification of Adamawa APC Guber Candidate, Petitions INEC, EFCC, ICPC over Alleged Contract Breach, Demands Yakubu’s Resignation

AJAGNE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Senator Aishatu Dahiru popularly known as Binani and APC gubernatorial candidate in Adamawa state has landed in another mess over her involvement in the contract of printing sensitive materials for the conduct of 2023 general elections in Nigeria.

In a petition dated yesterday, Wednesday 16th March, 2023, the Network of Community Development Association, NCDA, condemns the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC for awarding contract for the printing of elections results sheets to a Binani who is a politician contesting election.

NCDA, a famous Yola based group, said such INEC/ Binani’s relationship is morally and legally wrong as it puts the APC candidate at an advantage of rigging the elections.

The petition which was submitted to INEC Chairman Yakubu Mahmood through Adamawa state Resident Electoral Commission, REC in Yola was signed by the state coordinator of the group, Ijafiya James with the title: PETITION AGAINST AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR THE PRINTING OF RESULT SHEETS TO A COMPANY THAT BELONG TO APC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE IN ADAMAWA STATE BY NATIONAL INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSION.

The group noted that the INEC/HQ/PROC/EOPs/S.170/109 of 11th November, 2022, for the
Printing of Result Sheets for the 2023 Governorship Elections in Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano,
was awarded to Binani Printing Press when the owner of the company, Aishatu Dahiru who is a serving senator representing Yola South and who has already emerged as the candidate of the APC on May 26th long ago before the date of awarding the contract.

Although, INEC in a swift statement on Thursday said the politician’s name is not on the Director’s list of Binani Printing Press.

Festus Okoye,
National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee in a media statement stated that “Procurements in the Commission go through open competitive bidding and Binani Printing Press Limited was one of the security printing companies that applied to print security documents for the Commission. After inspecting the company’s facility and carrying out due diligence at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Commission was satisfied that they are qualified printers with the requisite technical capacity, security consciousness and expertise in printing security documents. However, Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed was not listed as one of the Directors of Binani Printing Press Limited”

Multiple sources confirm that the Company is actually owned by Senator Aishatu Dahiru.

The details available at the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC depicts Binani Printing Press Limited with Rc: 816807
Address: No 17, Atiku Abubakar Road, Jimeta, Yola, Adamawa State
Date of registration: May 10, 2009
Share capital: 15m
Directors:

1. Aishatu Dahiru
2. Hauwa Dahiru

The company was awarded the contract of printing forms EC 8A, EC8B, EC BC, EC8D with a total cost of N434,372,649.77 only.

In protest members of the NCDA stormed INEC office in Yola on Wednesday to submit petition against Biinani. They insist that the game plan is to allowed APC rig elections and therefore called for the resignation of INEC chairman and other officials involved in the award of the contract and amongst other demands an immediate qualification of the APC gubernatorial candidate, Aishatu Dahiru.

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

The court, however, asked that they put Bola Tinubu,the All Progressives Congress APC and the INEC on notice. Consequently, they filed motion on notice (number 13M) and motion ex parte (number 13MA) for substituted service on Bola Tinubu.