United States Senator Ted Cruz on Thursday said he did not mean to offend Nigerians when he took a jibe at the technical glitches being experienced by the website of a new US healthcare law commonly known as Obamacare.
During an appearance in his home state of Texas this week, the Republican Party lawmaker referenced what he called “Nigerian e-mail scammers.”
Senator Cruz was speaking about technical glitches on a new US government website that have prevented Americans from buying health insurance under the Affordable Health Care Act, or Obamacare.
Cruz, who has voiced opposition to the measure, jokingly said, “You know the Nigerian e-mail scammers? They have been a lot less active lately because they have all been hired to run the Obamacare web site.”
His comments stirred outrage among Nigerians and some political commentators across the world, as they demanded an apology from the controversial senator.
The Texas-based KTRK broadcast station reports that a spokesman for Senator Cruz reacted, saying: “The senator was making a joke based on the official term of a commonly utilised type of scam. He meant no offence.”
The Nigerian embassy in Washington has called Cruz’s remarks “unguided.”
In a statement, the Deputy Chief of Mission, Ambassador B.E. Archibong, said the embassy views the comments as a “very expensive joke that was taken too far,” VOA reports.
Senator Cruz’s comments have also been criticized by the Nigerian-American Leadership Council.
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