Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has apologised to Mr Eyo Charles, the Daily Trust Correspondent in Cross River State for using the word ‘Stupid’ during an encounter with him.
Fani-Kayode apologised and withdrew the word through his twitter handle on Wednesday.
Eyo Charles had during a news conference in the state asked him a simple question which Kayode felt was embarrassing. Fani-Kayode had in his reaction, assaulted the journalist calling him stupid and threatened him for daring to ask such a question.
The outburst of the former minister during the encounter had generated serious criticism with the NUJ, IPC among others calling on him to apologise to the journalist and withdraw the derogatory statement.
According to the former minister in his tweet, “I met with my advisors till late last night and I wish to say the following. I hereby withdraw the word “stupid” which I used in my encounter with a journalist in Calabar.
“I have many friends in the media who I offended by losing my cool and using such words. I hereby express my regrets for doing so.”
The former minister said that he made no threat of physical harm to the journalist and never sent anyone to threaten him. He stressed that he had never and would never seek to physically harm a journalist.
“I do however wish to state categorically that no threat of physical harm was ever made to the journalist in question and neither did I send anyone to threaten him. Anyone that says otherwise is lying and I challenge them to bring the proof.
“I would never seek to physically harm a journalist. For the last 30 years I have defended and worked with journalists and fought for the right of freedom of expression.
“I am also very close to many in that profession. I would be the last to seek to disparage those that are honorable and noble within its ranks,” he tweeted.
Fani-Kayode expressed hope that his apology and withdrawal of the derogatory word would assuage the pain as well as anger of anyone that was hurt or offended by the ugly episode
“I hope that this will assuage the pain and anger of anyone that was hurt or offended by this ugly episode. I have now put this matter behind me and moved on. Now my tour of the South continues. Moving to yet another state today,” he tweeted.