The Yobe State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Mohammed Gadaka, has urged married women to divorce their husbands if they refuse to allow them to vote for the APC in the upcoming general elections.
Gadaka made the remark while speaking in Nangere town on Thursday, where he received hundreds of defectors into the party.
He pledged to pay the “new bride price” of any woman who left her marriage over allegiance to the party.
The comment has sparked outrage across the state, with many residents, including Islamic scholars, describing it as reckless, provocative and capable of undermining family values.
Following the backlash, Gadaka withdrew the statement in a 42-second video posted on the Facebook page of the Director-General, Press and Media Affairs to Governor Mai Mala Buni, Mamma Mohammed.
The APC chairman said his comment was misconstrued and 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.
It was not clear whether the initial comment was in response to any reported threat by husbands against their wives’ voting choices.
Political observers in Yobe State said the retraction came amid mounting criticism of the statement, which many argued was inappropriate ahead of the elections.
Divorce your husbands if they stop you from voting APC — Yobe party chairman