Tension gripped the Ganye state constituency by-election in Adamawa State on Saturday, as the Independent National Electoral Commission conducted voting amid heightened security.
Speaking exclusively to PUNCH after casting his vote, Adamawa State Peoples Democratic Party Chairman, Tahir Shehu, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of deploying over 2,000 military officers, including 12 armoured tanks, to Ganye Local Government Area.
He said, “The Ganye state constituency by-election is a pointer to what the APC government is preparing to do come 2027. We never knew Nigeria’s government had up to 12 armoured tanks, especially when insurgents, bandits, and kidnappers are terrorising the country, even targeting military officers. Today, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, Taiwo Adeleke, is personally heading security in Ganye for an assignment a Divisional Police Officer could handle.”
Despite the show of force, Shehu insisted APC could not win the by-election. “Even if APC relocates the Defence Headquarters to Ganye, they cannot win this election. If the number of military officers and armoured tanks deployed here were sent to Borno State, the issues of Boko Haram, bandits, and kidnappings could be resolved in less than a week,” he added.
A former deputy governor of Adamawa, Martins Babale, countered Shehu’s claims, asserting that “PDP is dead and buried in Adamawa State. Atiku Abubakar brought PDP here, but with his exit, Nigerians have sought a political alternative that can sustain democracy, and that alternative is APC.”
Shehu warned that if prominent Nigerians do not condemn the use of the military in elections, democracy in Nigeria is under threat. Babale, meanwhile, argued that APC is on a rescue mission, claiming that past PDP administrations had undermined democratic institutions.
Observers of the by-election noted that vote buying occurred openly at several polling units, involving both APC and PDP operatives. AIG Adeleke, in a convoy of over 45 vehicles with heavily armed personnel from various security formations, patrolled the streets to ensure a peaceful voting process.
The Ganye state constituency seat became vacant following the death of Abdumalik Jarou in May 2024, who represented the constituency on the APC platform.
