By Gloria Drealomalicha
The Yobe State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Mohammed Gadaka, has come under fire after urging married women to leave their husbands if they were prevented from voting for the party.
Gadaka made the controversial remark on Thursday in Nangere while receiving hundreds of defectors into the APC.
Addressing the gathering, he was quoted as saying, “If your husband won’t allow you to vote APC, leave the marriage. I will pay your bride price and marry you.”
He reportedly went further to promise to pay the bride price of any woman who left her marriage because of her allegiance to the APC.
The comment quickly sparked criticism, with residents and Islamic scholars describing it as reckless and provocative. They warned that such remarks could create tension within families and undermine important social and religious values.
However, amid the backlash, Gadaka withdrew the statement in a 42-second video shared on the Facebook page of Governor Mai Mala Buni’s Director General of Press and Media Affairs, Mamma Mohammed.
The APC chairman said his comment had been misunderstood, insisting that it was intended as a joke rooted in a long-standing tradition of banter between his Ngamo people and the Kare-Kare-speaking community.
“My statement was just a usual joking banter and does not in any way represent the ideals I stand for or intend to encourage divorce among married people,” Gadaka said.
He expressed regret over the remark and formally withdrew it.
“I offer apologies for my statement, and I hereby withdraw it,” he added.
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