Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has accused a powerful cabal of seizing control of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration shortly after his 2015 election victory.
Speaking on the Mic On Podcast released on Sunday, Dalung shed light on how this group sidelined loyal supporters and ran the government for their personal gain.
Dalung described a cabal as “a group of ambitious people who were also appointed by the same president to help him govern but they will run his presidency at their own expense and interest.” He shared a personal experience to illustrate the shift in power dynamics.
Dalung said, “When the president was declared winner, I was with him in his office. I went to see him in the evening. That very day, I was blocked from going into his house, and this was the same place as the last night of the previous day, I was there till 2 a.m.
“I was blocked until I had to make calls before I was allowed to go in till I was able to make calls to assess Buhari before I was allowed. So, from that day, the cabal had taken over.”
Dalung further criticised the situation, stating that the people who truly worked for Buhari “went celebrating” and left the president vulnerable.
“These people, who understood power, took over and ran the government to their interest until eight years were gone,” he said.
When asked about cabals in the current administration of President Bola Tinubu, Dalung suggested the dynamics had shifted within the ruling All Progressives Congress.
“It is the same APC we formed, but it is now more sophisticated. The party has become a complex political architecture, more like a zoo,” he remarked.
Responding to claims that the Buhari administration was run by a Congress for Progressive Changecabal, Dalung refuted the notion.
He pointed out that CPC stalwarts like Tanko Al-Makura did not feature prominently.
“The CPC did not succeed in having a cabal. Instead, the government was hijacked by people who were not politicians but ‘like bandits who laid an ambush’ immediately after Buhari’s victory,” he said
The former minister also alleged that this group had amassed significant wealth and power over the years.
“Of course, they are very, very wealthy, and Nigerians should expect them. They are very powerful,” he added.
