The Director General, Media and Communications, the Kano State Government, Salihu Yakasai, drew the ire of several Nigerians by referring to the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, as “vice president academics” on Twitter.
Yakasai, via his account, @dawisu, on Tuesday, posted the controversial tweet, which seemed to mock the Vice President, in response to another user, Ismail Kabir, who had said, “It seems everyone in Nigeria is in New York for UN Assembly.”
The tweet was in reference to the attendance of President Muhammadu Buhari and several top Nigerian government officials at the United Nations General Assembly in the United States.
Ganduje’s aide, however, replied, “Vice President (Academics) is still around sir.”
Yakasai’s tweet drew reactions from several Nigerians, particularly amid speculation that Osinbajo’s role in the Buhari administration is being whittled down by powerful personalities close to the President.
Nigerians expressed outrage over the tweet with “VP Academics” among the top Twitter trends on Wednesday evening.
After coming under fire, Yakasai described himself as Osinbajo’s “huge fan.”
But @dsalahu replied, “Oga, a huge fan of the VP would not supposedly jokingly refer to him as ‘VP academics’ at a time like this, it sounds distasteful coming from a governor’s spokesperson. This backlash is justified.”
@JA_Anva, said, “VP Academics is that office you put an important person whom you wish to render powerless for a long time.