A former military Head of State, retired General Yakubu Gowon has described the allegations levelled against him by a United Kingdom parliament
A former military Head of State, retired General Yakubu Gowon has described the allegations levelled against him by a United Kingdom parliament member, Tom Tugendhat that he stole half of Nigeria’s money stocked in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) during his regime as “mere rubbish, a fallacy”.
General Gowon, who told the BBC News Pidgin that he served Nigeria with utmost fear of God said his legacies were visible to everyone.
“What the MP said was just mere ridicule and I don’t know as to where he cooked up such statement. I served Nigeria as much as I could and my achievements during those years are available to everyone,” he said.
“I don’t want to talk over the matter since those who know me very well say that the MP’s statement is nothing but a mere fallacy,” he added.
On Tuesday, British MPs passed a vote for UK’s government to sanction some Nigerian government officials were involved in brutalising EndSARS protesters. While debating, Mr Tugendhat alleged that bribery and corruption were the causes of Nigeria’s underdevelopment, citing an example that Gen. Gowon stole more than half of country’s worth in its central bank and stashed the sum in London when he was toppled.
Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) ruled Nigeria from 1966 to 1975 before his government was overthrown while he was away from Nigeria. The Nigerian civil war also known as the Biafran War and the Nigerian-Biafran War was a war fought between the government of Nigeria while he was head of state and the secessionist state of Biafra led by late Lt. Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Foolowing the coup that removed him, Gowon was directly flown to the United Kingdom and enrolled in a studentship at Warwick University.
