Durotoye Reveals He Was Pressured to Siphon Funds in Fraudulent Contract
Fela Durotoye, a former presidential candidate of the now-defunct Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), has revealed that he turned down an opportunity to embezzle N5 billion in a fraudulent government deal. Speaking at the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) biannual conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Durotoye described how he was pressured by a government official, who claimed to be a pastor, to take part in a corrupt deal.
According to Durotoye, the official approached him with an offer for a lucrative training contract, suggesting that he had already been selected for the job. The contract involved conducting training across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas within eight weeks. Durotoye’s team prepared an invoice for the training, initially pricing it at N1.3 billion. However, the government official told him that his price was too low and promised to increase the amount to N2 billion, adding an additional N700 million. He was then asked to submit an invoice for a staggering N5 billion.
The official assured Durotoye that there was no intention to rip off Nigeria, explaining that he had served the country and deserved compensation. When Durotoye reminded him that true blessings from God do not come with sorrow, the official responded, “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 the pressure to accept the deal mounted, Durotoye switched off his phone and distanced himself from the situation. Three months later, some government officials were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for stealing N426 million from an ethical leadership training fund.
Durotoye also spoke about his time serving under the President Bola Tinubu administration as a Special Assistant, revealing that he did not receive any salary, official car, or housing allowance. He explained that the reason for this was because his refusal to accept these perks made it difficult for corrupt officials to tie him to any form of financial misconduct.
