Durotoye recounts rejecting N5b fraudulent offer to uphold his integrity
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Fela Durotoye, former Alliance for New Nigeria Party (ANN) presidential candidate who later served in the administration of President Bola Tinubu, has recounted how he rejected N5 billion in a fraudulent government deal, despite pressure from an official who claimed to be a pastor.
Tinubu appointed him Senior Special Assistant on National Values and Social Justice in October 2023.
Durotoye on Tuesday recounted his experience at the biannual conference of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Abuja, describing it as a test of integrity, per reporting by Church Times Nigeria on Wednesday.
He said the official approached him with a training contract, for which he had already been selected, telling him the programme involved training people in all 774 councils in Nigeria for eight weeks.
According to him, upon request, he prepared an invoice with the cost strictly based on actual expenses.
His team calculated a fair price of N1.3 billion for the training, but three days later, a call from Aso Rock changed everything.
“I got a call congratulating me that I had secured the job. But they said the amount I was asking for was too small. They promised to add N700 million to make it N2 billion. Then they asked me to submit an invoice for N5 billion,” Durotoye disclosed.
He said when he questioned the ethics of inflating the price, especially for a training on ethical leadership, “The man assured me he wasn’t ripping off Nigeria. He said he had served the country and deserved compensation.
“When I reminded him that the blessings of God make one rich and add no sorrow, he fired back, saying, ‘There is no sorrow in this one. You have been doing well for Nigeria. It is time for Nigeria to do well for you.’”
As pressure mounted, Durotoye claimed he made a bold decision to switch off his phone.
Three months later, he narrated, news broke that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested some presidency officials for stealing N426 million from an ethical leadership training fund.
“Only your values can help you turn down corrupt tendencies,” Durotoye counselled.
He also disclosed that while working for Tinubu, “I did not collect an official car, I did not collect a house, and I did not collect a salary for serving.
“It was difficult to get my letter out because, according to somebody in government, my refusal to collect those things would make it difficult to pin me to corruption.”
He said despite the challenges and corruption, he encountered like-minded individuals in government who shared his commitment to integrity.
“When we have the right values, there won’t be corruption in this land.”
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