Former Head of State of Nigeria Chief Ernest Shonekan is dead. Aged 85, Shonkan who headed the Interim National Government that succeeded the junta of General Ibrahim Babangida, died in Lagos on Monday.
Shonekan was the interim head of the Nigerian Government between August 26 and November 17 1993 when he was ousted in a coup led by late General Sani Abacha.
During his brief stint as Interim President, Shonekan tried to win public support by freeing political prisoners, lifting press restrictions, and dismantling the oil industry bureaucracy, while promising to hold a new presidential election on Feb. 19, the following year.
The late Shonekan made his mark in the private sector as a boardroom stalwart and industrialist,.