hampered by a national workers' strike. Opposition leader Moshood Abiola, viewed Shonekan's interim government as illegitimate. Shonekan released political prisoners detained by Babangida. Shonekan's administration introduced a bill to repeal three major draconian decrees of the military government. Babangida made the interim government weak by placing it under the control of the military. Shonekan had lobbied for debt cancellation but, after the election annulment, most of the Western powers had imposed economic sanctions on Nigeria. Inflation was uncontrollable and most non-oil foreign investment disappeared. The government also initiated an audit of the accounts of NNPC, the oil giant, an organisation that had many operational inefficiencies. Shonekan served as an executive of Royal Dutch Shell while acting as the interim president of Nigeria. Shonekan tried to set a timetable for troop withdrawal from ECOMOG's peacekeeping mission in Liberia. General Sani Abacha, was the minister of defence and chief of defence staff who had full control over the military. Out of office In November 1993, three months into his administration, Shonekan was overthrown in palace coup by Abacha. In 1993, he along with other prominent Nigerians and expatriates, founded the Nigerian Economic Summit Group an advocacy group and think-tank for private sector-led development of the Nigerian economy. Since then Shonekan went on to feature prominently as an elder statesman. Personal life and death Shonekan was married to Margaret Shonekan. He died on 11 January 2022, at the age of 85 at Evercare Hospital in Lagos. At the time of his death, he was the third oldest surviving Nigerian head of state by age after Elizabeth II and Yakubu Gowon. Citations General references "Military swears in transitional government", Agence France Presse—English, 4 January 1993 "Nigeria prepares medium-term plan", Financial Times (London, England), 28 January 1993 "NIGERIA: HARD ROAD AHEAD FOR INTERIM GOVERNMENT", IPS-Inter Press Service, 26 August 1993 1936 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 20th-century Nigerian lawyers 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople 21st-century Nigerian lawyers Alumni of the University of London Businesspeople from Lagos CMS Grammar School, Lagos alumni Harvard Business School alumni Heads of state of Nigeria Lawyers from Lagos Nigerian Anglicans Nigerian chairpersons of corporations Nigerian chief executives Politicians from Lagos Prime Ministers of Nigeria United Africa Company Yoruba businesspeople Yoruba legal professionals Yoruba politicians