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Fela Durotoye, a renowned leadership coach and former presidential candidate of the defunct Alliance for New Nigeria, has shared how he rejected a fraudulent offer to steal N5bn from the government despite pressure from an official. Speaking at the ongoing Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Durotoye recounted the experience, which he called a test of his integrity.
He revealed that an official, who claimed to be a pastor, approached him with a proposal for a government training contract. The job was to train people in all 774 local government areas of Nigeria within eight weeks. Durotoye, seeing the offer as legitimate, prepared an invoice based on actual expenses. His team calculated a fair price of N1.3bn.
However, just days later, Durotoye received a call from the presidency congratulating him on securing the job. They told him his invoice was too low and promised to add N700 million, raising the total to N2bn. Then, they asked him to submit a new invoice for N5bn. Concerned by the inflated figure, Durotoye questioned the ethics of such a request, especially for a training program focused on ethical leadership.
The official dismissed his concerns, assuring him that no wrongdoing was involved. When Durotoye reminded him that true blessings come without sorrow, the official insisted there was no problem with the deal, suggesting it was time for Nigeria to reward him for his service.
Faced with increasing pressure, Durotoye made the decision to turn off his phone. Three months later, it was revealed that some government officials had been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for stealing N426 million from the ethical leadership training fund.
Durotoye emphasized that strong moral values are crucial in resisting corruption, noting, “Only your values can help you turn down corrupt tendencies.”
He also shared details of his service under the Tinubu administration, where he worked as Special Assistant to the President. Durotoye revealed that he never took an official car, house, or salary during his service, even though it made it harder for him to receive his letter of appointment. He explained that some government officials believed his refusal to accept these perks would prevent them from accusing him of corruption.
Reflecting on his time in government, Durotoye expressed hope that with the right values, corruption could be eradicated in Nigeria. “When we have the right values, there won’t be corruption in this land,” he concluded.
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