Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday apologized to Nigerians over his recent post, insisting that it was not his intention to cause disaffection amid the ongoing strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other unions.
Sunrise.ng reports that Gbajabiamila recently posted a picture of himself attending a leadership course at Harvard University in the United States of America.
The 60-year-old politician came under fire for celebrating his “return to class” amid the ongoing ASUU strike.
Several stakeholders and activists described the Speaker’s post as insensitive.
Under Gbajabiamila’s tenure as Speaker, Nigeria witnessed its longest ASUU strike in 2020.
However, in a series of tweets via his Twitter handle on Wednesday night, Gbajabiamila said, “Yesterday, I posted a picture of myself at the @Harvard @Kennedy_School, undergoing a course. That post was not sensitive to the present feelings of fellow citizens, especially parents and students who are presently bearing the brunt of the ongoing closure of public universities owing to the unresolved issues between the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“I apologize for the post at this time, and I hope you will understand that it was not my intention to cause disaffection. As Speaker of @HouseNGR, I have made multiple interventions within the powers of the legislature to avert the ongoing strike. I had direct engagements with ASUU, and relevant government agencies.
“We all await the outcome of the two-week ultimatum given for the conclusion of negotiations with ASUU.”