Reps to invite British High Commissioner to Nigeria, demand apology over comment on Gowon

The House of Representatives has resolved to invite the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing over the recent comment made by a British lawmaker against former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon.

The planned invitation is to seek an explanation from the British envoy why no apology has been issued despite calls for same.

On November 23, a member of the British parliament accused Gowon of taking half of the money in the Central Bank of Nigeria with him when he went on exile.

But during plenary on Tuesday, the House mandated its Committee on Foreign Affairs to interface with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British parliament over the comments.

According to the House, the allegation of looting by a member of the British House of Commons against Gowon is capable of causing a crisis in Nigeria and disturbing the peace of the country.

The resolution of the house followed a motion from a lawmaker, Yusuf Gagdi, who is from the same constituency as the former head of state.

Gagdi maintained that no evidence was provided to back the claim.

Following Gagdi’s motion, the House resolved that the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila should write to the Speaker of the UK Parliament to express displeasure over the unfounded allegations.

The letter is also to demand that the Member of Parliament, who made the allegation, should offer a public apology to Gowon, as well as the people and government of Nigeria.

This comes a week after the UK Parliament criticised the Federal Government for the handling of protesters who took part in the #EndSARS demonstrations.

They also demanded sanctions on government officials such as a visa ban, freezing of assets, and stopping the funding and training for the Nigeria Police Force. (Channels TV)

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