Adamawa: APC guber candidate owns printing press used for INEC sensitive materials, PDP insists

The campaign council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of partisanship regarding the award of contracts.

This was contained in a statement issued on Friday by Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

The INEC had in a statement through its National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, denied awarding a sensitive contract to the Binani Printing Press Limited — a firm owned by the APC governorship candidate in Adamawa State, Senator Aishatu Binani.

However, Okoye said she was not listed as one of the Directors of Binani Printing Press Limited before it awarded the contract to the company.

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In his response, Shaibu said it was unfortunate that despite being given an allocation of over N300 billion as well as financial assistance from foreign governments, including the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom, the leadership of INEC had “continued to run the commission without scruples.”

He stated that a simple search on CAC revealed Binani as being part of the printing press, giving a lie to INEC’s claim of ignorance.

He further stated, “An ordinary search on CAC’s portal by youths on Twitter has already revealed that Senator Binani owns Binani Printing Press Limited, a firm that was given a contract to print sensitive INEC materials. The company with RC 310024, which was registered on March 13, 1997 has Senator Aishatu Ahmed listed as number one.

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“It is obvious that Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has no plan of leaving a legacy of free and fair elections. With barely a year left on his tenure, his performance as INEC chairman will become a by-word for failure. This is a man who has received the highest financial allocation ever and yet cannot still run the agency effectively and deliver a credible election.

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“It is funny that INEC claims it awarded the contract to Binani’s company in order to stimulate the local economy. One wonders whether it is the duty of INEC to stimulate the economy or conduct credible elections.

“Elections are not just supposed to be free and fair. They are expected to be free and fair. The process and credibility of an election are more important than its result.

“This latest excuse by INEC for awarding a contract to an APC candidate holds no water and is the height of the commission’s incompetence.”