Dalung: Lawmakers demanded N200m bribe during my budget defence

Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has alleged that members of the National Assembly demanded a N200 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.

He deescribed the incident as one of his earliest encounters with what he characterised as entrenched corruption within Nigeria’s public institutions.

According to the former minister, the alleged demand came shortly after he presented the ministry’s budget proposal before lawmakers.

He said the legislators requested that he provide N200 million, a demand he insisted had no basis 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.’ 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 N200 million,” Dalung said.

The former minister alleged that his response brought the session to an abrupt end, with lawmakers excusing him from the meeting while indicating that discussions would continue 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 claimed that after the incident, his role in subsequent budget defence exercises was significantly reduced.

According to him, he was only required to present an overview of the ministry’s budget proposals before being asked to leave, while detailed deliberations continued behind closed doors between lawmakers and senior ministry officials.

He alleged that he later realised the practice was not isolated to his ministry, claiming that some ministers, particularly those perceived to have close ties to the Presidency, routinely complied with such demands to facilitate the smooth passage of their budget proposals.

Dalung said the experience convinced him that legislative oversight had, in some instances, been transformed into an avenue for personal enrichment rather than accountability.

He argued that when constitutional oversight responsibilities are compromised by illicit financial interests, transparency and accountability in public administration are weakened.

According to him, such practices encourage the diversion of public resources, undermine governance and erode public confidence in state institutions.

Dalung further contended that many corruption scandals involving government agencies persist because institutions responsible for oversight have themselves become compromised.

The former minister’s claims have not been independently verified. As of the time of filing this report, the National Assembly had not issued any official response to the allegations.

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