Former Military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has defended the late President Umaru Yar’adua, stating that he cannot be blamed for corruption due to his clean reputation.
The former Military Head of State stated that Nigeria would be in a better state if late President Umaru Yar’adua had finished his term.
He highlighted that Yar’Adua accomplished noteworthy milestones for Nigeria during his brief tenure in office.
Gowon, speaking during the first President Umaru Musa Yar’adua International Leadership Conference and Awards organized by the Global Initiative for Leadership Success in Abuja on Monday, emphasized that the late former president granted amnesty to Niger Delta militants to revive the nation’s economy.
The former Military Head of State said, “He was a decent man; a man with absolute integrity. He was an honest man. He did very well and he has to be remembered.
“He was so honest that he said the process that brought him to power was not right. And he set up a committee. But it was not followed by successive leaders.
“However, I believe that one day, we shall have a solution. He was honey and sincere in dealing with any problem, and he was incorruptible.
“You cannot blame him for corruption; he was clean. His various activities, including the amnesty programme that he brought to the Niger Delta ensured our economy was protected.”
Umaru Musa Yar’adua assumed the presidency in 2007; however, in 2010, he passed away due to health complications.