An apology has been demanded by the federal government from the British government over the “unsubstantiated” claim by a member of its parliament that Nigeria’s former head of state, Gowon, looted public treasury.
This was contained in a statement released by the spokesperson of the ministry of foreign affairs, Ferdinand Nwonye on Friday. Nwonye said Nigeria has also demanded that the statement be retracted.
Recall that chairman of the UK parliament foreign affairs committee, Tom Tugendhat had, speaking at the parliament’s recent debate on the #EndSARS crisis, accused Gowon of looting half of Nigeria’s central bank when he left office. However, the MP did not provide any evidence or source to support his claim.
Picture Caption: UK Parliarment
Nwonye said the ministry, upon learning of the claim, “immediately sought an apology and retraction of the unsubstantiated allegation from the British Government”.
He said the federal government also consulted with the Head of Africa Department of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Charlotte Pierre, who “expressed strong reservations on the comment of the Parliamentarian”.
Reacting to the MP’s claim, Gowon described it as “rubbish”. He had told the British Broadcasting Corporation, (BBC) that, “What the MP said was just mere ridicule and I don’t know as to where he cooked up such a statement. I served Nigeria as much as I could and my achievements during those years are available to everyone”.
