The Yobe State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Mohammed Gadaka, has sparked outrage after urging married women to divorce their husbands if they prevent them from voting for the party in the upcoming general elections.
Speaking in Nangere town on Thursday while receiving hundreds of defectors into the party, Gadaka said, “If Your Husband Won’t Allow You to Vote APC, Leave the Marriage. I will Pay Your Bride Price and Marry You.”
He also pledged to pay the new bride price of any woman who left her marriage over allegiance to the party.The comment drew widespread criticism, with residents and Islamic scholars describing it as reckless and provocative, warning that it could undermine family values.
Amid the backlash, Gadaka later withdrew the statement in a 42 second video shared on the Facebook page of Governor Mai Mala Buni’s Director General, Press and Media Affairs, Mamma Mohammed.
The APC chairman claimed his comment was misconstrued, explaining that it was only intended as a joking banter based on the age long practice of teasing between his Ngamo people and the Kare Kare speaking people.
“My statement was just a usual joking banter and does not in any way represent the ideals I stand for or intended to encourage divorce among married people,” Gadaka said.
“I offer apologies for my statement, and I hereby withdraw it,” he added.
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