Contrary to online reports that the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, lost his polling unit during Saturday’s Garki/Babura Federal Constituency by-election, the minister actually was victorious in the election.
According to his media office, which dispelled the false reports in a press statement, the minister’s polling unit, Babura Kofar Arewa Primary School — Polling Unit 002 (PU 002), was won by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the by-election.
It said: “His Excellency personally cast his vote at PU 002. The official result, as released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and announced by the Returning Officer, is as follows:
• All Progressives Congress (APC): 188 votes
• Peoples Democratic Party (PDP): 164 votes
“These authentic results confirm a clear victory for APC at Babura Kofar Arewa Primary School, Polling Unit 002.”
The statement, signed by Mati Ali, the Personal Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Minister of Defence, added: “We categorically reject the inaccurate reports circulating online that misidentified the polling unit as PU 001 and wrongly asserted the Minister lost his polling unit.
“Such reports are false and misleading. We urge the public, party members, and the media to rely only on INEC’s official declarations and to disregard the spurious claims.”
