Former military leader General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) responded to allegations made by British lawmaker Mr. Goodheart over his departure from Nigeria in a recent interview with the Daily Trust. Gowon explained that when he left, he withdrew a sizable sum of money from the Central Bank of Nigeria.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
Gowon noted that during the civil war, his administration worked hard to preserve the nation’s financial assets and infrastructure. He emphasized the importance of safeguarding the oil facilities, ensuring they remained intact. This foresight allowed Nigeria to recover financially after the war.
He stated that there was a disciplined approach to governance during his leadership, claiming that the total amount of funds he controlled as head of state was approximately 83,000 pounds, prior to the transition to naira for security reasons. Gowon explained that this decision was influenced by the necessity to protect Nigeria’s financial integrity.
Gowon said, “Mr Goodheart, the British parliamentarian, said that when I was leaving Nigeria, I took half of the Central Bank of Nigeria. We had a lot of money. During the civil war, we made sure that we did not destroy any of the facilities. We did whatever we could not to damage our oil infrastructure. So, soon after the civil war, they were able to come back and we were able to have a reasonable amount of money.”CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
