NUJ Got Me Completely Wrong ; Femi Fani - Kayode

Femi Fani-Kayode, former minister of aviation, says the Nigeria Union of Journalists (N U J) misunderstood the flare-up between him and a reporter.<br /><br />He attacked Eyo Charles , a journalist who asked him a question at a press conference in Calabar, Cross River state, last week. <br /><br />In a statement released on his social media handles, described the question by the journalist, as “an assertion and insult”, saying he has been arranged by his political enemies who wanted to give him a hard time.<br /><br />The full Statement:<br /><br />During my tour of the South and after a long and successful press conference in Calabar, Cross Rivers state, a journalist put up his hand for the last question and said,<br />"Well we do not know who is bankrolling you".<br />This is not a question but an assertion and an insult. <br />And if this insulting ASSERTION were made before Trump or OBJ I know how they would have reacted.<br />Below is my response and I have no apology to offer for it. <br />The young man apologised to me during the press conference and sent his apologies to me after the conference. I have accepted his apologies in good faith and moved on. <br />I have always had respect for journalists and I always will. Those of them that know me or have worked with or for me over the last 30 years can attest to that. <br />However there is a distinction between asking a question and offering a gratuitous insult . <br />This is all the more so when it is clear that the assertion was sponsored and engineered by my political enemies who wanted to use the young man to insult and embarrass me and question my integrity. Well they got more than they bargained for. <br />I repeat this was not a question but an assertion and an insult and I will not accept that from any man born of woman. Thank you.<br />ADDENDUM: <br />Permit me to add the following to my earlier statement. I have taken note of the report by Daily Trust on the incident. The content is false. I didn't send any of my security men to threaten the