The House of Representatives yesterday condemned the false allegations by a member of British House of Common againstformermilitaryHead of State, Yakubu Gowon, on looting half of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The House, in unanimous decision, agreed to write to the British Parliament and demand for a public apology to the former Head of State and Nigerians.
The resolution was taken following a motion under matters of urgent national importance moved by Hon. Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau) who requested that the British High Commission should be made to explain the issue to the house.
According to him: “Yakubu Gowon is under my constituency and the statement that went viral should not be made by a parliament as such in the UK.
“It beats my imagination that the country’s parliamentarian, Tom Tugendhat, the consecutive member for Tonbridge and Mailing and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Selected Committee of the House of the Commons, had accused former Head of State of Nigeria, General Yakubu Gowon of taking half of the Central Bank of Nigeria with him when he went on exile to the United Kingdom (UK) after the toppled in a military coup.”
He continued: “The recalcitrance of Tugendhat, MP in this matter gives credence to suggestions in certain quarters that the careless utterance was not made in error, but rather calculated attempt to exploit the faultiness of Nigeria society to create conflict, exacerbate crisis and create conditions that make governing doubtful and progress impossible.”
He insisted that the British MP had to bring evidence to back up his accusation.