Mustapha Salihu, the Northeast National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has refuted claims that he seized election materials during Saturday’s State Constituency by-election in Adamawa. Instead, he alleges that he acted to protect the materials from disruption by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters.
Earlier reports indicated that youths in Ganye had surrounded Salihu’s vehicle, accusing him of hiding BVAS machines and a ballot box. A widely circulated video fueled speculation of electoral interference.
Addressing the allegations at a press briefing in Yola, Salihu stated that he intervened to prevent PDP-backed individuals from hijacking the vote-counting process.
“The Speaker of the State Assembly and the PDP Chairman mobilized thugs to steal election materials when they realized they were losing,” Salihu claimed. “I called on security personnel to clear the area, allowing only party agents to oversee the sorting and counting.”
He further explained that when the situation turned violent, he instructed a police officer to secure the materials before requesting additional security backup. “I never moved any materials—why would I, when my party was leading?” he questioned.
Citing polling unit results, Salihu noted that the APC had secured significant margins in several areas, including 86 votes to PDP’s 36 in one unit and 65 to 40 in another. He accused PDP officials of attempting to destroy ballot boxes after failing to alter the results.
“I arrived with police, secured the materials, and handed them over to reinforcements—exactly as seen in the video,” he said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) later declared APC’s Misa Musa Jauro the winner with 15,923 votes, narrowly defeating PDP’s Buba Muhammed Joda, who received 15,794 votes—a difference of just 129 votes.
Observers described the election as closely contested and largely peaceful, with high voter turnout across all ten wards.
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