The Nigerian community in Sunderland has protested against the inauguration of Councillor Gibbins as a councillor in Sunderland after he made deeply racist remarks online two years ago.
The offending comments
It was reported on 20 May that the Nigerian community in Sunderland was calling on councillor Glenn Gibbons to resign after comments he made on social media about Nigerians in Sunderland, two years ago.
Councillor Gibbins complained about” the amount of Nigerians in the town”, before going on to say that unspecified people should melt all the Nigerians down and “fill the potholes”.
Reform UK responded by suspending councillor Gibbons, who is now in role as an independent councillor
Protest against Gibbins
in response to Councillor Gibbins’s post and his election as a councillor, the Sunderland Nigerian community organised a peaceful protest on Wednesday 20 May. The protest took place in front of Sunderland City Hall, ahead of the inauguration proceedings that would see councillor Gibbons officially become a Sunderland councillor.
The aim of the protest was for members of the Sunderland Nigerian community to peacefully assemble and express their concerns before attendees entered the hall for the inauguration ceremony.
Police notification and necessary engagement was carried out beforehand. The Nigerian community in Sunderland also extended their appreciation to the Nigerian Students community for agreeing to stand in solidarity with them.
The protest was said to be not about individuals alone but about defending the respect and dignity of all Nigerians living in Sunderland, and was a collective call for all groups of Nigerians no matter what their background.
The protest was a demonstration against the racism displayed by the newly elected Reform UK councillor
The elections on 7 May
Councillor Gibbons was elected to represent the Hylton Castle ward in Sunderland in the local elections held on 7 May, and the Nigerian community in Sunderland is calling for him to resign as a councillor.
The chair of the Sunderland Nigerian community, Godwin Ejeh, who had also stood in the local elections, as a Liberal Democrat candidate, in the Pennywell and S Hylton ward commented that an apology issued to Chroniclelive by Councillor Gibbons was not remorseful and that he must resign.
Apology from Gibbins
Councillor Gibbons said in his apology:
“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 where 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.
“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”.
Apology “not directed at Nigerians living in Sunderland”
In response Ejeh commented that he didn’t find the apology remorseful as it was not directed at Nigerians living in Sunderland.
Another Nigerian Dr. Alex Okorie responded on behalf of the Newcastle Nigerian community in a similar vein, calling upon Councillor Gibbins to resign and saying that the Facebook posts were “absolutely not acceptable”.
Okorie went on to say: “This kind of speech shouldn’t be tolerated in this society. It’s demeaning to society and capable of causing tension. It’s absolutely not acceptable”.
“I realise he has apologised but that has not been accepted by the community. His resignation would be a deterrent to people who make such comments.”.
