Saina Buba, commissioner for poverty alleviation, youth empowerment and sports in Borno, says his earlier remark over alleged threats to opposition members in the state was made figuratively.
Buba spoke during a press briefing in Maiduguri, the Borno
state capital, on Monday while reacting to the outrage that followed his
earlier comment.
Speaking on Saturday in Maiduguri during a campaign
inauguration event organised by the City Boy Movement, a political support
organisation for President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid, the commissioner had
warned critics against attacking the state government.
He said those who continued to oppose the Babagana Zulum
administration would face consequences, noting that politics is built on
patience, lobbying and enforcement.
“Whoever raises their fingers against us, we will do the
same to them. If you raise your fingers again, we will cut them off,” he said
in a viral video seen by TheCable on Monday.
‘MY WORDS NOT DIRECTED AT OPPOSITION MEMBERS’
However, Buba said he was directing the comments to All
Progressives Congress (APC) members from the north-east who attended the
programme, and not opposition members.
According to NAN, the commissioner maintained that his
statement was twisted to create the impression that he was referring to members
of the opposition.
“The meeting was purely APC members gathering, not political
parties. It’s a City Boy Movement which was designed to promote economic
empowerment, self-reliance, skills development and improved livelihoods, among
party loyalists,” he said.
“We in the APC observed that immediately after the party’s
primaries, some aggrieved members have started playing anti-party politics, and
we felt it’s necessary to call them to order by telling them those who vote for
APC candidates will be fed with honey, while those who don’t will be caned.”
Buba said the statement was figurative and simply meant that
“our empowerment and other welfare packages will be limited to loyalists, and
nothing for those who are engaged in anti-party activities.”
The commissioner said he had no apology for his statement,
which, according to him, was directed at a gathering of like-minded people who
agreed to remain faithful to the ideals of APC.
He added that as the 2027 electioneering campaign gathers
momentum, members of the public should expect a barrage of attacks from the
opposition.
“There is no opposition in Borno, as our party will clinch
all elective positions in view of numerous people-oriented projects executed by
the state and federal governments,” he added.
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