Gabon’s President Ali Bongo has pledged to give away all the money he inherits from his father, to set up a foundation for the country’s youth.

“In my eyes we are all heirs of Omar Bongo,” he said in a national address.

The will of his father, who ruled for 41 years until his death in 2009, is yet to be settled. He reportedly left a fortune worth many millions of dollars.

French judges are currently probing the Bongo family over alleged embezzlement, accusations which they strongly deny.

Gabon is a major oil producer, but a third of its population live in poverty, according to the World Bank. BBC