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 characterised as entrenched corruption within Nigeria’s public institutions.

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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 a National Assembly committee.

He claimed lawmakers requested ₦200 million despite there being no budgetary provision for such a payment.

Dalung said he responded by informing the committee that he had carefully examined the ministry’s appropriation documents and found no budget line providing for what he described as a bribe.

He added that he questioned where the committee expected him to source the money since it was not included in the approved budget.

The former minister alleged that his response effectively ended his participation in the budget defence, with lawmakers reportedly asking him to leave while they continued discussions with the ministry’s Permanent Secretary.

According to Dalung, he was thereafter largely excluded from detailed budget defence sessions and was only required to present an overview of the ministry’s budget before senior ministry officials continued discussions with lawmakers behind closed doors.

Dalung further alleged that the practice was not limited to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, claiming that similar demands were made across other ministries, departments and agencies.

He alleged that some ministers, particularly those considered close to the Presidency, routinely complied with such requests to facilitate the approval of their budget proposals.

The former minister argued that legislative oversight had, in some cases, been transformed from a constitutional accountability mechanism into an avenue for personal enrichment.

According to him, when oversight responsibilities become influenced by illicit financial interests, transparency and accountability in public administration are undermined.

Dalung maintained that such practices encourage the diversion of public resources, weaken good governance and diminish public confidence in government institutions.

He also alleged that recurring corruption scandals involving ministries, departments and agencies have persisted because some institutions responsible for oversight have themselves become compromised.

The National Assembly has not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of filing this report.