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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The former information minister under General Yakubu Gowon, Edwin Clark, has recalled how he almost suffered a heart attack when the fake news on his death filtered in on Monday.
The leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), appealed to the Nigerian media to be responsible in their reportage, urging that citizens contribute to build a country where people from an aspect of the country are not subjugated to the position of second-class citizens.
He said: “The social media, yesterday almost caused an attack in me when they announced that General Yakubu Gowon was gone. I had a break down only to discover that it was not true when Gen. Gowon phoned to say that ‘I’m still alive, I’m still enjoying this country. And the position I am.’
“So what am I saying? Let us build up a country where people from an aspect of the country are not subjected subjugated to the position of second class citizens.”
Gowon had through his aide, Adeyeye Ajayi, debunked his death.
Reacting to the claim, Ajayi, in a statement sent to NTA, said the former military leader is alive.
“I am still around and well. I am not in a hurry,” the statement quoted the former military leader as saying.
Gowon was mistaken for the immediate past Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNUs) and former Vice-Chancellor of Niger Delta University, Emeritus Prof. Samuel Gowon Edoumiekumor, a professor of economics and social sciencist who died in Lagos early on Saturday, October 7, at the age of 53 from complications related to lung cancer.
