Former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon has denied widespread rumour about his death, saying he is not in a hurry to join his maker.
Gowon,88, was said to be in London at the time the rumour spread like wildfire in Nigeria.
He debunked it via a short message delivered to newsmen through his personal aide Adeyeye Ajayi.
“I am still around and well. I am not in a hurry”, Ajayi quoted Gowon as saying.
The social media went wild Monday with the rumour that the former Nigerian leader, who reigned between 1966 and 1975, was dead.
Many bloggers shared the fake news and it was also widely shared on WhatsApp.
The trigger for the rumour was the report on Sunday that another Gowon, Prof. Samuel Gowon Edoumiekumor, a former Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNUs) died.
Samuel Gowon was also the former Vice-Chancellor of Niger Delta University.
He died in Lagos early on Saturday, October 7, at the age of 53.
Edoumiekumor, a professor of economics and social scientist, passed away from complications related to lung cancer.
credit: PM News
