Bosun Tijani, a ministerial nominee from Ogun state, was on Saturday grilled by senators over a Twitter post he made in 2019.
At the commencement of the screening, Abdulfatai Buhari, senator representing Oyo north, asked Tijani to speak on the post.
“Nigeria is a bloody expensive tag,” Tijani wrote in the controversial tweet.
Since the announcement of his nomination, Tijani has come under criticism from members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), with many asking President Bola Tinubu to withdraw his selection.
While being questioned over the matter, Buhari asked the ministerial nominee whether he is still a patriotic Nigerian.
Other senators also insisted that the ministerial nominee should answer the questions raised by Buhari.
In response, Tijani, CEO and co-founder of CcHub, said he posted the tweet based on an experience at the Chinese embassy.
The ministerial nominee said a Chinese embassy official had informed him that he would be subjected to further scrutiny because of his Nigerian passport.
Tijani said his Twitter posts were made “out of anger and patriotism” for the country — and not hatred.
He added that he has consistently invested in the development of young Nigerians through technology.
Speaking in his defence, Elisha Abbo, senator representing Adamawa north, said the happenings in the country usually trigger young Nigerians to say certain things against the country.
The lawmaker added that the harsh comments on social media were borne out of the love young Nigerians have for the country.
Also speaking, Opeyemi Bamidele, the senate leader, pleaded with his colleagues to confirm the ministerial nominee.
Bamidele said the president is aware that Tijani was one of the supporters of the #EndSARS protest and still went ahead to nominate him as minister.