The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar, has dismissed as false, reports circulating on social media that he lost his polling unit to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during Saturday’s by-election for Garki/Babura Federal Constituency of Jigawa State.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Mati Ali, on Sunday, Mr Abubakar, the immediate past governor of the state, clarified that his polling unit, Babura Kofar Arewa Primary School Polling Unit 002, was wrongly linked to results from Polling Unit 001 located in the same school.
The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to the circulation of an election result from Babura Kofar Arewa Polling Unit 001, mischievously attributed to the Honourable Minister of Defence, His Excellency Mohammed Badaru Abubakar.
“We wish to categorically state that the report is nothing but the handiwork of mischief makers seeking to distort facts and tarnish the good image of the Honourable Minister. For the avoidance of doubt, the Honourable Minister’s actual polling unit is Babura Kofar Arewa Primary School Polling Unit 002, where His Excellency personally cast his vote.”
The statement said the narrative that the minister lost to the opposition was a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and undermine his political influence in Jigawa State, where he remains a key figure in APC’s structure.
What really happened at the polling unit
Contrary to the rumours, results from Polling Unit 002 show that the APC scored 188 votes, while the PDP polled 164.
The mix-up occurred because Polling Unit 001 in the same location recorded a different outcome that favoured the PDP, but it was mistakenly or deliberately presented as the minister’s voting unit.
Beyond the controversy at the polling unit, the APC consolidated its dominance in Jigawa politics by winning the overall by-election. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the party’s candidate, Mukhtar Rabiu, as winner with 38,449 votes. PDP’s candidate, Isah Auwalu Manzo, polled 13,519 votes, while NNPP’s Sabo Salisu managed 2,931 votes and Muktar Babangida of ZLP received 31 votes.
The Returning Officer, Isma’il Ibrahim, announced the result after collation in Babura, confirming APC’s wide margin of victory.
The outcome of the by-election further solidified the dominance of the APC in Jigawa State, where the party has consistently outperformed rivals since 2015. With the victory of Mr Rabiu, the APC has retained the Babura/Garki seat and ensured that its numbers in the House of Representatives remains strong.
Why the by-election was necessary
Saturday’s poll was not part of the regular general elections but a bye-election necessitated by the death of Isa Dogonyaro, who represented Babura/Garki Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives until May 2024.
Mr Dogonyaro, who won his seat during the 2023 general elections, passed away after a brief illness, leaving his constituency without representation in the 10th National Assembly.
His death created a constitutional vacancy, compelling INEC to schedule the by-election to fill the seat.
Under Nigerian law, when a seat in the legislature becomes vacant due to death, resignation, recall, or court nullification, INEC is mandated to conduct a by-election to ensure continued representation.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the APC secured a majority of the seats in Saturday’s by-elections conducted across 16 federal and state constituencies in 12 states, according to results announced so by INEC.
