Borno State Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation, Youth Empowerment and Sports, Saina Buba, has addressed his earlier remarks during a campaign inauguration event organised by the City Boy Movement.
NEWSNGR recalls that Buba had warned that those opposing the Babagana Zulum administration would face consequences.
He stated that the fingers of those who fail to support them would be cut off.
However, during a press briefing in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, on Monday, the commissioner said his remarks were not directed at the opposition.
He explained that he was directing the comments to All Progressives Congress (APC) members from the north-east who attended the programme, and not opposition members.
Buba lamented that his statement was twisted to create the impression that he was referring to opposition members.
“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.
“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,” he said.
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 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.
