A former Special Adviser to ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Alwan Hassan, has publicly withdrawn his allegation that the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin collected a bribe of $10m to drop President Bola Tinubu’s nominee for Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Abdullahi Ramat.
Hassan apologised to the lawmakers at a press conference in Abuja.
He explained that he was simply concerned at how Ramat’s name mysteriously disappeared from the Order Paper after he was strongly recommended by the Senate Committee on Power.
Hassan stated that his claim that a bribe of $10m was paid to the Senate President and his deputy stemmed from misleading conversations and false assumptions.
The APC stalwart said, “I also referenced a claim alleging that they received $10m in bribes to stall Ramat’s confirmation. That allegation came from conversations I had while trying to understand the issues.
“I have since come to realise that the claim was not only untrue, but unfair and uncharitable to both the National Assembly and its leadership.”
Hassan consequently announced that he had retracted the allegation and is willing to tender a public apology to the Senate, Akpabio and Barau.
He also appealed to lawmakers to look beyond his recent excesses and revisit Ramat’s stalled appointment.
“I therefore retract that statement fully and unreservedly, and I apologise to the National Assembly and its leadership for those accusations,” he said.
Hassan’s apology comes just a week after the Senate threatened to drag him to court over the allegation, which had triggered outrage in political circles amid mounting distrust around federal appointments in the power sector.
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