Borno commissioner clarifies viral ‘finger’ remark, says it was not a threat to opposition

Borno State Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation, Youth Empowerment and Sports, Comrade Saina Buba, has clarified that his remarks in a viral video were not a threat to opposition politicians. The commissioner addressed journalists in his office, stating that he had been taken out of context. The video showed him 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." Buba insisted that this was figurative language directed at members of his political group, the All Progressives Congress. He explained that the gathering was an internal affair of the APC and had nothing to do with opposition parties.

Buba clarified that the meeting aimed to call party members who engaged in anti-party politics to order, promising that party benefits and empowerment opportunities would be limited to loyalists. He emphasized that his comments were made before the party's members and supporters, who understood the political context. The commissioner also expressed confidence in the ruling party's performance in the 2027 general elections, attributing it to the numerous people-oriented projects carried out by the state and federal governments in the North-East.