- A video circulating online captured Borno Commissioner Saina Buba making remarks about ‘breaking fingers’ of those who oppose him
- Buba addressed journalists in Maiduguri on Monday, insisting his words were taken out of context by critics
- The commissioner said the gathering where he spoke was an internal APC meeting, not a public political event
Borno State Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation, Youth Empowerment and Sports, Comrade Saina Buba, has denied that remarks he made in a widely circulated video amounted to threats against political opponents.
The footage, which spread across social media and drew significant criticism, captured Buba saying: “We are now playing politics. Whoever shows us a finger, we will show him a finger… Whoever dares to show us a finger again, we will break his finger.”
Speaking to journalists at his office in Maiduguri on Monday, Buba said critics had deliberately twisted his words to paint a false picture of him targeting the opposition.
What the commissioner said the remarks were about
Daily Trust reported that Buba clarified that his words were directed solely at aggrieved members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) within the Northeast, not at rival political parties. He said the occasion in question was an internal APC gathering, specifically a meeting of the City Boy Movement (CBM), a group launched in the Northeast to empower loyalists within the party.
He explained that following the APC primaries, the party noticed some members engaging in anti-party activities, and the meeting was convened to address that behaviour. Buba added that his vow to “break fingers” and withhold benefits from such members was entirely figurative in nature.
The commissioner offered no apology for his words, maintaining that they were appropriate for an audience of committed APC members and were never meant for general public consumption.
Looking towards the 2027 election cycle, Buba urged APC faithful in the state to prepare for a surge in opposition attacks and propaganda. However, he downplayed the threat posed by rival parties in Borno State, expressing confidence in the ruling party’s standing in the region.
Source: Legit.ng