Godwin Ejeh, leader of the Nigerian Community Sunderland, has remarked that the manner in which Glenn Gibbins, a Reform UK councillor’s tendered his apology over a 2024 racist social media post directed at the Nigerian community, is not remorseful.

Reports also reveal that members of Sunderland Nigerian Community share the same sentiment.

According to Ejeh, “The way it’s put in the apology, is not remorseful. He has said this against Nigerians. This is what he has been asked to do and it’s not directed at the victims against who has committed this offence.”

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Gibbins, a Reform UK local councilor has been charged with racist comments on social media in 2024 in a post allegedly directed at the Nigerian community.

He had issued the following statement to ChronicleLive after being approached, saying, “A number of years ago, prior to standing for election and before joining Reform UK, I made a series of posts on my personal Facebook profile which were intended as jokes, but were made in extremely poor taste and with poor judgement.

“I fully recognise that these comments were entirely inappropriate and I sincerely apologise to anyone who may have been offended by them. The posts do not reflect my personal beliefs or values, and I regret both the language used and the offence caused”.

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“My focus is fully on serving the residents who elected me, and I remain committed to representing the people of Hylton Castle Ward to the best of my ability”, Gibbins noted.

Gibbins is scheduled to appear before South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on August 21.

Ngozi Ekugo is a Senior Correspondent at BusinessDay. She holds a Masters in management from the University of Lagos, an undergraduate from University of Lagos, and is in an alumni of Queen's College. Shes currently an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM). She has a brief experience at Goldman sachs, London in its Human Capital Management division. She is interested in human capital development and is leveraging her varied experience across sectors to report labour and global mobility trends for stakeholders to make informed decisions.