An election candidate in Dublin has described a social media post mocking his name as racist.
John Uwhumiakpor is a People Before Profit candidate running in the upcoming general election in the Dublin Fingal constituency.
He arrived in Ireland from Nigeria in 2006.
A photograph of his poster has gone viral on social media, with a screengrab of a Facebook post which reads: 'Another Wifi password looking for votes up in Balbriggan'.
Speaking to Newstalk's Henry McKean, Mr Uwhumiakpor said it is sad to see that some are focusing on people's identity to attack them.
"That is racist" - #GE2020 candidate responds to social media post mocking his name.
@BreakfastNT @HenryMcKean pic.twitter.com/tyhzInJhQ3— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) January 20, 2020
He observed: "It is my surname - it was a name that my dad used when he was alive.
"I don't see any reason why someone's identity should be used to attack them - that is not good.
"There are a lot of Irish names that I can't even pronounce... but I see them as unique because they are unique names in this country.
"Calling someone's name 'a WiFi password' is not good... that is racist. It is not good [in] this century for people to be going that direction."
He added: "What [people] should be [focused on] is what I am going to do, not the name.
"My name is for recognition... but what I'm going to contribute to the community and society is what we should be looking out for."
