Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has made a startling allegation that members of the National Assembly demanded a ₦200 million bribe from him during his first budget defence while serving under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Dalung made the allegation in a statement reflecting on his years in office, describing the incident as one of his earliest encounters with what he called entrenched corruption within Nigeria's public institutions.
According to the former minister, the alleged demand was made shortly after he presented the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development's budget proposal before lawmakers. He claimed that members of the committee requested ₦200 million from him, despite there being no provision for such payment in the ministry's approved budget. “I looked through the budget documents before me and replied that I had not seen any budget line titled ‘bribe,'" Dalung said. “I told the committee that since no such provision existed in the ministry's appropriation, I had no idea where they expected me to obtain ₦200 million.”
The former minister alleged that his response abruptly ended his participation in the meeting. According to him, the lawmakers asked him to leave and indicated that they would continue discussions with the ministry's Permanent Secretary. “They simply told me, 'Okay, Mr Minister, you are excused. We will take it up with the Permanent Secretary,'” he recalled.
Dalung further alleged that his involvement in subsequent budget defence exercises was significantly reduced after the incident. He said he was thereafter only required to give an overview of the ministry's budget proposals before being excused from the sessions. According to him, detailed discussions would then continue behind closed doors between lawmakers and senior officials of the ministry.
The former minister claimed he later discovered that the alleged practice was not limited to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development. He alleged that some ministers, particularly those perceived to have close relationships with the Presidency, routinely complied with similar demands to ensure the smooth passage of their budget proposals. Dalung argued that legislative oversight had, in some instances, been turned into an avenue for personal enrichment rather than a mechanism for ensuring accountability in government.
He maintained that when constitutionally assigned oversight responsibilities become influenced by illicit financial interests, transparency and accountability in public administration are weakened. According to him, such practices encourage the diversion of public resources, undermine good governance and erode citizens' confidence in government institutions. The former minister further argued that several corruption scandals involving ministries, departments and agencies had persisted because some institutions responsible for oversight had allegedly become compromised.
Dalung, however, did not identify the lawmakers or committee involved in the alleged incident. As of the time of filing this report, the National Assembly had not issued any official response to the allegations, which have not been independently verified. The former minister, who served under President Buhari from 2015 to 2019, was among those not reappointed after the late President won re-election. At the time, some political analysts had speculated that his refusal to play ball with members of the National Assembly may have contributed to his exit.
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