How National Assembly Members Demanded ₦200 Million Bribe From Me

How National Assembly Members Demanded ₦200 Million Bribe From Me – Dalung
Former minister claimed he refused because no budget provision existed.
He alleged compromised oversight weakens transparency and accountability in government.

Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has alleged that members of the National Assembly demanded a ₦200 million bribe from him during his first budget defence under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Dalung made the allegation in a statement reflecting on his time 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.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that he claimed members of the committee requested ₦200 million from him despite there being no provision for such a 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.’

“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 ₦200m,” Dalung said.

Dalung alleged that his response brought his participation in the budget defence to an abrupt end.

According to him, the lawmakers excused him from the meeting and informed him 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.

The former minister further claimed that after the incident, his role in subsequent budget defence sessions was significantly reduced.

He said he was only required to present an overview of the ministry’s budget proposals before leaving, while detailed discussions continued behind closed doors between lawmakers and senior ministry officials.

Dalung alleged that he later discovered the practice was not limited to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

According to him, some ministers, particularly those believed to have close ties to the Presidency, allegedly complied with similar demands to facilitate the approval of their budget proposals.

He argued that legislative oversight had, in some instances, been transformed into a means of personal enrichment rather than a constitutional mechanism for promoting accountability.

Dalung maintained that when oversight responsibilities become influenced by illicit financial interests, transparency and accountability in public administration are weakened.

He added that such practices encourage the diversion of public funds, undermine good governance and erode public confidence in government institutions.

National Assembly ₦200 Million Bribe Dalung

The former minister also alleged that several corruption scandals involving ministries, departments and agencies had persisted because some oversight institutions had become compromised.