Former military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon has said the Biafra civil war was never his choice.

Gowon was presiding over the affairs of Nigeria during the civil war from July 6, 1967 to January 15, 1970.

He described the civil war as the most difficult period of his life.

The former ruler spoke after he was honoured with a Life Time Integrity and Achievement Award at the 5th Convention of the Christian Men’s Fellowship, Abuja Anglican Diocese on Saturday in Abuja.

He also disclosed that his decision to prosecute the Biafra civil war was never born out of hatred.

Gowon explained that he prosecuted the civil war due to the urgency to preserve national unity.

The former ruler called for forgiveness, reconciliation and unity across faiths and ethnicities.

He said: “I always remember the civil war. It was the most difficult period of my life.

“It was not my choice, but I had to be there, and had to do what I did in order to keep this country together.

“It was never a hatred against any people, I can assure you.”

Reflecting on life after that period, the former Head of State stressed that his decisions had often been guided by prayers and a desire to act with integrity and compassion.

“As far as this heart is concerned, everything that I do, it is through prayers.

“I ask God to help me to do the right thing the way He thinks it should be done, with love and respect for all the people.

“That is why at the end, what do we have to say? As they say: no victor, no vanquished,” he added.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has deleted an explosive allegation post which linked US President Donald Trump with disgraced financier, Jeffrey Epstein.

Musk is said to have posted the allegation on social media during a public fallout with Trump this week.

The tech billionaire, who recently resigned his role as a top White House advisor, on Thursday, accused Trump of featuring in unreleased government files on former associates of Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while he faced sex trafficking charges.

Meanwhile, the administration of the Republican has acknowledged that it was reviewing many documents, videos and investigative material that his “MAGA” movement says will reveal public figures complicit in Epstein’s crimes.

The US President was reportedly named in a trove of deposition and statements linked to Epstein that were unsealed by a New York judge in early 2024.

However, he has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the case.

“Time to drop the really big bomb: (Trump) is in the Epstein files. “That is the real reason they have not been made public,” Musk posted on his social media platform, X as his growing rift with the president takes a new twist.

Musk, who did not disclose which files he was talking about and offered no evidence for his claim, initially doubled down on the claim, writing in a follow-up message: “Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”

The former Trump’s advisor, has, however, appeared to have deleted both tweets by Saturday morning.

Trump knew and socialized with Epstein but has denied spending time on Little Saint James, the private redoubt in the US Virgin Islands where prosecutors alleged Epstein trafficked underage girls for sex.

The Republican, last week, gave Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE.

However, their relationship imploded within days as Musk described as an abomination a spending bill that, if passed by Congress, could define Trump’s second term in office.

Trump hit back in an Oval Office diatribe and from there the row detonated, leaving Washington and riveted social media users alike stunned by the blistering break-up between the world’s richest person and the world’s most powerful.

Reuben Abati, former presidential spokesperson and co-host of Arise TV’s The Morning Show, has denied claims made by Lere Olayinka, media aide to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, that he and his wife once solicited financial assistance from the minister.

He also denied the allegations which have been circulating in the media.

On Friday’s show, Olayinka accused Abati of being a supporter of former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.

According to him, Abati’s absence from the program on Friday was not accidental but a decision by management due to his alleged bias.

However, co-host Rufai Oseni disagreed with this claim and explained the actual reason for Abati’s absence.

He also stated that Abati and his wife were among those who had solicited financial help from Wike, a claim that Abati, however, has firmly denied.

“I have never approached Minister Nyesom Wike to beg for money. That is a lie. If anyone including an ex-partner went to him under false pretences to solicit funds in my name, I place a clear disclaimer,” the statement reads.

“Such actions were not authorised by me, and Minister Wike reserves every right to call it out as fraud.

Abati denied being politically intertwined with Amaechi.

“I am not Rotimi Amaechi’s spokesperson, nor do I have his phone number. That’s a fabrication.

“I was not absent from The Morning Show on Friday to avoid any discussion. I was engaged at a pre-scheduled book review for “Oprah Benson Live and Legend”, a 550-page publication by Dr. Udu Yakubu. It was an honourable intellectual commitment.

Abati described Olayinka’s comments asking him to resign from his media office and become the spokesperson for Amaechi as inappropriate.

“I stand firmly by everything I said regarding Minister Wike. He is a public official occupying a public office. He is, and should remain, subject to public scrutiny. Nobody in public service is above accountability.”