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A former Governor of Ekiti state, Ayo Fayose has on Wednesday defended his comments during an interview he granted Channels Television recently saying there was no need to apologise to anyone, adding that he had no intention to disparage anyone or region in the country.
It is recalled that Fayose in an interview on Channels TV on Monday, July 29, inferred that poor men having numerous wives and children they cannot cater to is a problem in Nigeria and a huge burden on the government. In his analogy, he referenced his visit to a Northern state where he interacted with a security guard in a government house who earns N34,000 and has four wives and sixteen children.
However, some Northern elites had found Fayose’s comment to be unacceptable and therefore asked him to apologize.
Reacting in a statement which he personally signed and made available to veracitydesk.com.ng and other news outlets, the undeterred former Governor said what he said was very clear stressing that he didn’t mention the State he visited and that his illustration was harmless and shouldn’t attract vituperative criticism.
Read the release in extenso as reproduced hereunder:
Fayose: No Apologies, My Comment Not Targeted At Anyone or Any Region
I have no reasons to say derogatory things about anyone, not even the North, not the South.
What I said was very clear.
I said I visited a State in the North, I didn’t mention the State. And I gave an illustration that I got talking to a Gateman who said to me that he had four wives and 16 children. And I said what can the government do about such a person? What can government do about a Gateman with four wives and 16 children?
That illustration is not about the North, it could be anyone in the Southwest, Southeast or South-South.
Some people are saying I should apologize, and I want to state that I have no apology because I have not offended anyone. My point is, the nation needs to address the issue of its population, either North, South or anywhere.
It is regrettable that people pervert the truth and quote others out of context. Majority of those who have reacted to that interview did not even watch it, they didn’t also bother to see the video.
Therefore, I can’t bothered about the anger of anyone. I have no reasons to be derogatory about anyone, any region or group.
See Fayose’s audio-visual reaction below:
