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United States Senator, Ted Cruz, has apologized over his disparaging comments
on Monday, October 21 in which he referred to Nigerians as scammers.
He
also called for a peace meeting with Nigerian-Americans who have demanded that
he retracts the derogatory remarks.
According
to local American media, Cruz, while taking a political swipe at the computer
problems of the Affordable Care Act in the U.S, made the comments.
"You
may have noticed that all the Nigerian email scammers have become a lot less
active lately.
"They
all have been hired to run the Obamacare website," Cruz was quoted as
saying on Monday in Houston.
Nigerians
home and abroad have strongly condemned the statement, while the Federal
Government through the Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S., Prof Ade Adefuye,
demanded an apology from Mr. Cruz.
But
a letter on Sunday from the senator to leaders of the Nigerian community in
Houston, Texas, where the comments were made, said Cruz "regrets any
misunderstanding."
The
letter was signed by one of the aides of the Senator, Mr. David Sawyer, the
South-East Texas Regional Director in his office.
The
letter of apology reads in parts: "Earlier this week, Sen. Ted Cruz made a
joke in which he used the term 'Nigerian email scam."
"Senator
Cruz regrets that it is unfortunate that we're living in a time where just
about every joke can be misconstrued to cause offence to someone."
"Cruz
has never, nor would ever use a blanket term in a derogatory fashion against
such a vibrant and integral part of our community. This usage was never
directed to the Nigerian community as a whole.
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