The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Yobe State, Muhammad Gadaka, has urged married women whose husbands prevent them from voting for the party to seek divorce, offering to pay their dowries.
Gadaka made the remark while speaking at a campaign rally in Nangere, Yobe State, on Thursday, according to Arise News.
In a video shared by News Central, the APC chairman told women whose husbands would not allow them to vote for the party to stand up to them and leave their marriages.
He said he was prepared to pay the dowries of women who left their marriages because their husbands prevented them from voting for the APC.
The remark sparked criticism, with residents and Islamic scholars describing it as reckless and provocative and warning that it could undermine family values.
Gadaka has since apologised and withdrawn the comment amid the backlash.
In a video shared on the Facebook page of Yobe State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Abdullahi Bego, on Friday, the APC chairman said his remark had been misconstrued.
He explained that the comment was intended as a joke and did not represent his personal ideals or an attempt to encourage divorce among married people.
Gadaka apologised for the statement and formally withdrew it.
The remark comes days after Borno State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Sainna Buba, sparked controversy after threatening to flog people who refused to support the APC in the 2027 election.
(Punch)
Yes ooh, they will divorce their husbands and come and marry you because of 5k you will give her for voting abii? senseless one at that. I don’t blame you people, keep enjoying our money one day e go choke you people……die…,