The National Vice Chairman (Northeast) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mustapha Salihu, has refuted allegations that he was caught with election materials during Saturday’s State Constituency by-election in Adamawa State.
Reports had earlier claimed that angry youths in Ganye blocked Salihu’s SUV after suspecting that he was hiding BVAS devices and a ballot box in the vehicle. A viral video of the confrontation fueled speculations of attempted electoral malpractice.
However, speaking at a press conference in Yola, Salihu dismissed the accusations, insisting he was only protecting sensitive materials from being tampered with by thugs allegedly sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to him:
“The Speaker of the State Assembly and the PDP Chairman mobilized thugs to snatch election materials after realizing they were losing. I asked security operatives to disperse the crowd and restrict access to only party agents. When violence broke out, I instructed police to secure the materials and later contacted the AIG for reinforcements. I never moved an inch with the materials. Why would I snatch election materials where I was clearly winning?”
Salihu backed his claims with polling unit figures, citing APC’s clear lead in areas like Unit 06 Ganye 1 Ward (APC -86,PDP- 36) and Unit 010 (APC – 65,PDP -40).
He further accused PDP leaders, including the State Chairman and the Speaker, of plotting to disrupt the process, but said he resisted until security reinforcements arrived.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Misa Musa Jauro of the APC winner of the Ganye State Constituency bye-election. Jauro secured 15,923 votes narrowly defeating PDP’s Buba Muhammad, who polled 15,792 votes a margin of just 129 votes.
