AfDB president Adesina cautions against misinformation about Gowon

The President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has cautioned members of the public about peddling falsehood and spreading misinformation, stating about a former Nigerian Head of State, Yakubu Gowon.

He stated this in a tweet in reaction to a comment by British lawmaker, Tom Tugendhat, accusing Gowon of “stealing half of Nigeria’s central bank”.

Tugendhat had said this on Monday during a parliamentary debate on a petition seeking that the United Kingdom government impose sanctions on Nigerian officials involved in the alleged excessive use of force on peaceful protesters during the #EndSARS protests.

Adesina in a tweet on Thursday described Gowon as a man of integrity that deserved to ge respected and not treated with scorn.

The AfDB’s boss stressing that Gowon’s integrity is impeccable stated, “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.”

Meanwhile Gowon has denied Tugendhat’s accusation, describing it as “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 in an interview with BBC.