Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has responded in kind to those who criticised him for sleeping while President Muhammadu Buhari spoke at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
Pictures of the dozing 59-year-old went viral on Nigeria’s social media space Wednesday, with trolls knocking him for embarrassing the country.
The governor’s spokesperson, Crusoe Osagie, has, however, fired back at critics of his boss.
Speaking on behalf of his boss, Mr Osagie said fatigue and exhaustion are indisputable facts of life to which all humans are susceptible.
“Our attention has been drawn to a mischievous campaign designed to smear the image of the Edo State Governor, Mr. Governor Obaseki.
“The disparagers have populated the internet with photographs of the governor when he momentarily succumbed to fatigue after a long flight, preceded by a chaotic itinerary in Edo State before heading to New York for the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, in the United States of America.
“The idle hands and mischievous minds behind the smear campaign against governor Obaseki are clearly not people to be taken seriously, Osagie said.
He added that pictures of other world leaders yielded to fatigue at meetings are all over the internet.
“Those who are familiar with the daily work schedule of Governor Godwin Obaseki have attested to his rare and unique work ethics, devoid of fanfare and trivialities,” the statement said, adding that “we have never portrayed him as a machine.”
