Ahmadu Fintiri, the governor-elect in Adamawa state, has vowed to prosecute those who are behind what he described as ‘criminality’ in the just-concluded gubernatorial election that was marred by controversies.
Fintiri stated that if those responsible for the charade were not prosecuted by the concerned authorities, he would.
INEC declared Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the winner of the disputed election, defeating his close ally, Aishatu Binani of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking on a Channels Television interview on Tuesday night, Fintiri declared support for the immediate prosecution of the alleged perpetrators of the criminality during the supplementary election.
The Adamawa state governor noted that he ran against alleged enemies of democracy in the poll, while emphasizing he and others had learnt their lessons.
The victory of Ahmadu Fintiri came two days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) overturned an initial result announced by its resident electoral commissioner, who declared the ruling All Progressives Congress party’s Aisha Dahiru the winner.
Fintri said, “I think everybody has learnt his lesson. INEC itself, as an umpire, has learnt a lot of lessons and it has corrected its wrongs so that it can protect itself as an institution. The police that are supposed to protect democracy became caught up in the whole saga. It’s unfortunate. It’s a disgrace.
“But I think everybody is picking up and they are trying to correct their wrongs. Time will tell if these people will be properly prosecuted. But if they don’t prosecute this criminality that took place in Adamawa State, I am going to prosecute them.
“I don’t think I have run against any woman in Adamawa State. I ran against enemies of democracy outside Adamawa State and their gang-up has not gotten anywhere. I think, for now, we give God the glory.
“They decided to be enemies of democracy and the only scapegoat they could find is in Adamawa State. They wanted to put a woman [from] their party, forgetting that we have performed excellently well in Adamawa State, our people love us.”