Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd)

By Muhaimin Olowoporoku

Former Nigerian Head of State, Yakubu Gowon has rubbished claims that he stole half of Central Bank.

British MP Tom Tugendhat on Monday accused the former Nigerian leader of looting the country’s apex bank while he was a military ruler.

Tugendhat made this claim during the UK  parliament’s debate on the #EndSars protest and Lekki tollgate shooting.

Yakubu Gowon who responded to Tugendhat claims in an interview with BBC described the allegations as ”Rubbish”

An exasperated Gowon wondered where Tugendhat got the information from.

“What the MP said is rubbish. I don’t know where he got that rubbish from. I served Nigeria diligently and my records are there for all to see, Gowon said.

“I did not want to speak on this issue because people that know me know that what the MP said is not true,” Gowon said.

Gowon’s compatriots have also risen in his defence, the latest being the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina.

In a tweet that went viral on Wednesday night, he warned Nigerians not to fall for Tugendhat misinformation and described Gowon as a man of integrity.

“Be careful of misinformation! H.E. General Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s former Head of State, is a man of great honour, decency, honesty, amazing simplicity, humility and integrity.

“I know him. A great and admirable elder statesman of Nigeria. His honesty and integrity are impeccable”, Adesina wrote.

He accompanied his tweet with the photo of Gowon and Queen Elizabeth, when she visited Nigeria, during Gowon’s era.