Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has rendered an unreserved apology to a journalist for the verbal harassment he meted he meted out during a recent press conference in Calabar, the Cross-River State capital.
Fani Kayode also apologised to the Nigeria Union Journalists, family members, friends, and colleagues of the Daily Trust reporter.
Speaking on Friday during a press conference at the Government House in Uyo, the ex-minister said he disappointed himself and everyone, noting that his reaction was undefendable.
“I’m deeply sorry for the manner I reacted to the said reporter. I was too hard on him. The question was mischievous, but I fell for it,” he said.
“I should have been smarter than that. I am using this opportunity to reach out to him, and I hope he will be kind enough to forgive me.”
“I disappointed myself, my family and friends, my colleagues and even my bosses, those who hold me in high esteem.
“I have regrets, it was not my finest day. No leader or public figure should ever react like that. I disappointed myself. I deeply regret it and I believe it will never happen again.”
This came days after Fani-Kayode insulted a journalist for asking him what he described as a “stupid question” at a press conference after his tour of Cross River state.
The reporter had asked Fani-Kayode who was “bankrolling” his recent tour of several southern states, a question that irked the ex-minister.
His comments had generated widespread criticism from many Nigerians and groups, including the NUJ which described him as “intolerant and unstable”.
The ex-minister, who began a tour of some states, especially those controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) states in July, visited Cross River last week.
Expectedly, the state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Akwa Ibom statehon Friday directed its members to boycott a press conference planned for the former minister who was in the state for a tour.