The ministerial nominee from Ogun State, Bosun Tijani, has apologised after being queried by Senators over some Twitter posts he made in 2019.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had on Wednesday, through his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, sent an additional list of 19 nominees to complement the previously sent 28 ministerial nominees.
While appearing before the Senators on Saturday for his screening, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari (APC – Oyo North) asked the Tijani to speak on his 2019 Twitter post and whether he is still a patriotic Nigerian.
During the plenary, other senators insisted that the ministerial nominee should answer the question raised by Buhari.
In the tweet, Tijani said, “Nigeria is a bloody expensive tag”.
The Oyo Senator also quizzed Tijani about his disdain for the Nigerian passport and Nigeria as a nation,
Buhari said: “On the 21st of July 2019, Dr Bosun tweeted against Nigeria that he does not appreciate the Nigerian passport and Nigeria as a nation.”
The lawmaker asked the nominee to clarify whether he still believes in Nigeria and the country’s passport.
In defence of the nominee, Senator Ishaku Abbo representing Adamawa North Senatorial District said the nominee tweeted out of a mixture of frustration and love for Nigeria.
Also, Senator Solomon Adeola from Ogun West Senatorial District defended the nominee from his state, saying his “youthful exuberance” and “shortcoming” should be forgiven.
Adeola, who chided the nominee, said Tijani has what it takes to use his skills to develop Nigeria’s IT industry, saying the baby should not be thrown away with the bath water.
However, Tijani’s prolonged tough moment was not yet over before the lawmaker as the Senate Minority Leader representing Plateau North Senatorial District, Simon Mwadkwon, read another “non-patriotic” by Tijani which was posted sometimes in 2021.
Similarly, Senate Majority Leader representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Opeyemi Bamidele, described Tijani as an “EndSARS protester”.
Bamidele said Tijani was trying to speak for his generation and should not be grilled for his tweets.
The Senate Leader said Tinubu wants to work with young people like Tijani to bring harmonise their ideas for the betterment of the country.
Bamidele asked youths to learn from Tijani’s situation and thereafter urged his colleagues to forgive the nominee.
Addressing the Senate, Tijani said he is very passionate about Nigeria and he is committed to the country’s development.
The nominee said he tweeted as a result of a frustrating experience he had with the Chinese Embassy.
“I tweeted in anger,” he admitted.
The nominee subsequently apologised for his non-patriotic tweets and Senate President Godswill Akpabio said his apology was accepted and asked the nominee to take a bow.
“We are all fathers and we cannot throw the baby away with the bath water…On behalf of the Senate, I want to accept your apology,” Akpabio said.
