Former presidential aide, Fela Durotoye, has revealed how he resisted pressure to inflate a government contract from N1.3 billion to N5 billion while serving as Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on National Values and Social Justice, Daily Trust reports.
The renowned leadership coach, motivational speaker and former presidential candidate of the defunct Alliance for New Nigeria, detailed how was pressurized by an official who said he was a pastor to siphon N5 billion from the government coffers.
He revealed this while speaking at the ongoing biannual conference of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria in Abuja.
Durotoye, who described the experience as a test of integrity, said he was approached to conduct a training programme for people across the 774 local government areas in Nigeria that would last for eight weeks.
As a business consultant and leadership expert, Durotoye said he was guaranteed for the job and upon request, asked to prepare an invoice, ensuring the cost was strictly based on actual expenses.
He said his team has calculated a fair price of N1.3 billion for the training but got a shocker three days later from the presidency.
He continued: “But just three days later, a call from the presidency congratulating me that I had secured the job changed everything. They said the amount I was asking for was too small and promised to add N700m to make it N2bn. Then they asked me to submit an invoice for N5bn”.
The motivational speaker said when he questioned the rationale for inflating the price, especially for a training centred on ethical leadership, the official dismissed his concerns.
He said the man assured him he wasn’t ripping off Nigeria because he had served the country and deserved compensation.
