Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has disclosed how a cabal allegedly seized control of governance shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the 2015 presidential election.
Speaking on the Mic On Podcast on Sunday, Dalung described the cabal as “a group of ambitious people appointed by the president to assist in governance but who ended up running the government for their own interests.”
He revealed that immediately after Buhari’s win, a powerful faction emerged, sidelining those who had worked tirelessly during the campaign.
“When the president was declared winner, I was with him in his office that evening. That very day, I was blocked from going into his house, a place I frequented even the previous night until 2 a.m.
“It was only after making calls that I was eventually allowed in. From that day, the cabal had taken over,” Dalung recounted.
According to him, those who genuinely supported Buhari celebrated his victory and left him exposed, paving the way for power-hungry individuals to dominate the government for eight years.
Addressing the current administration under President Bola Tinubu, Dalung suggested a shift in dynamics within the All Progressives Congress (APC), calling it “a more sophisticated and complex political architecture, almost like a zoo.”
Refuting allegations that Buhari’s government was run by a Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) cabal, Dalung said politicians from Buhari’s CPC faction, like Tanko Al-Makura, did not feature prominently.
Instead, he accused non-politicians of hijacking the administration, describing them as “bandits who laid ambush after Buhari’s victory.”
Dalung warned of the wealth and power amassed by this group, saying, “They are very wealthy and influential, and Nigerians should expect them.”
Despite his revelations, the former minister expressed no fear, citing over 10 assassination attempts against him.
“I’ve been in the struggle for 40 years. My mother assured me I’ll not leave this world until the day God ordains,” he stated.