‘Divorce your husband’: Yobe APC Chairman apologises, withdraws comment

The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Yobe State, Mohammed Gadaka, has publicly apologized and withdrawn his remarks that suggested married women should divorce their husbands if they were opposed to the party. The controversial statement was made on Thursday during a gathering in Nangere where Gadaka welcomed numerous defectors into the party.

During the event, he reportedly told women whose husbands disapproved of their support for the party to end their marriages, offering to pay their bride price to remarry them. Gadaka's comment quickly drew criticism from residents and Islamic scholars, who labeled it as provocative and inappropriate and warned that it could tarnish family values.

In response to the backlash, Gadaka released a 42-second video on Facebook, as shared by Mamma Mohammed, the Director-General of Press and Media Affairs for Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni, in which he clarified that his remark had been taken out of context. He explained that the statement was a joke stemming from the traditional banter between his Ngamo ethnic group and the Kare-Kare-speaking people.

Gadaka emphasized that his comment did not reflect his true beliefs or intentions to promote divorce among married individuals. He expressed deep regret over his statement and formally withdrew it, apologizing for the breach of decorum.