The claim by a British lawmaker that former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon stole half of Nigeria’s central bank, has elicited an official response from the Nigerian government.
Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the UK parliament on foreign affairs committee, had accused Gowon of stealing half of Nigeria’s central bank and depositing them in the U.K. banks.
He said: “Some people will remember when General Gowon left Nigeria with half of the Central Bank, so it is said, and moved to London.”
The lawmaker did not provide any proofs for his claim.
In a statement on Friday, November 27, Ferdinand Nwonye, spokesman of the ministry of foreign affairs, said Nigeria has demanded that the statement be retracted.
Nwonye said the moment Tugendhart made the unsubstantiated claim, the Nigerian government sought an apology and retraction of the allegation from the British Government.
He said the federal government also consulted with Charlotte Pierre, head of Africa Department of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, who “expressed strong reservations on the comment of the Parliamentarian”.
The statement quoted Pierre as saying “the said comment of the MP does not reflect the views of Her Majesty’s Government and the British Government has no mechanism for controlling the actions and speeches of members of the Parliament.”
It added that she urged Nigeria to “discountenance the said comment of the MP, as Her Majesty’s Government has nothing to do with it”.
