Tinubu Govt Didn’t Pay Me Salary, I Rejected N5bn Offer – Fela Durotoye

Fela Durotoye reveals he was not paid a salary by the Tinubu administration and turned down a N5 billion offer, emphasizing his commitment to integrity and service.

Fela Durotoye, a former presidential candidate of the defunct Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), has alleged that he declined an opportunity to embezzle N5 billion in a corrupt government scheme.

He stated that this occurred under significant pressure from a government official, who was part of a previous administration and professed to be a pastor.

Durotoye mentioned this during his speech at the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria’s biannual conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

He stated that the official came to him with an attractive training contract and claimed that he, Durotoye, had already been selected for the position.

He was told that the program would include training sessions across all 774 local government areas in Nigeria over a period of eight weeks.

Durotoye’s team proceeded to prepare an invoice, estimating the training cost at N1.3 billion.

“A few years back—I’ll refrain from specifying exactly how many—it wasn’t during this administration or the last; it was quite some time ago, so I’ll leave it at that,” Durotoye stated.

He said, “I received a phone call from a Man of God in Abuja who told me, ‘Fela, there’s an opportunity I want you to explore. In fact, let me be clear—you’ve already secured it.’”

However, they mentioned that the amount I requested was too little. They offered to add N700m to bring it up to N2bn. Then, they instructed me to submit an invoice for N5b.

The man assured me that he was not engaging in any fraudulent activities involving Nigeria.

He claimed to have served the country and believed he was entitled to compensation. When I pointed out that God’s blessings bring prosperity without sorrow, he responded confidently, “There’s no sorrow in this situation. You’ve contributed greatly to Nigeria’s success; now it’s time for Nigeria to reciprocate.”

As the pressure intensified, Durotoye disclosed that he turned off his phone.

Durotoye mentioned that three months following the discussions, certain officials in the presidency were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for embezzling N426 million from a fund designated for ethical leadership training.

Durotoye also revealed that he did not receive a salary while working as Special Assistant to the President during Bola Tinubu’s administration.

I did not receive an official car, a house, or a salary for my service.

“It was challenging to send out my letter because, as someone from the government mentioned, my refusal to collect those items would make it difficult to associate me with corruption,” he stated.