A former minister of youth and sports development, Solomon Dalung, has revealed that a multi-layered cabal hijacked the administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, former president of Nigeria.
Dalung said following Buhari’s exit from office in 2023 and his death in 2025, there has been a coordinated attempt by beneficiaries of the administration to sanitise and rebrand his legacy.
He said several books written or supported by Buhari’s associates, aides, appointees and family members are aimed at redefining the former president’s historical image.
Dalung singled out From Soldier to a Statesman by Charles Omole as one of the most controversial publications, saying it generated public debate due to revelations attributed to Buhari’s widow.
The former minister said he was not writing as a distant observer but as someone who had close personal and professional access to Buhari.
Dalung said Buhari trusted him deeply, a relationship he claimed bred resentment and hostility among members of the former president’s inner circle.
He said power under Buhari was not centralised but fragmented among three competing blocs he described as a “multi-layered cabal”.
According to Dalung, the first bloc was a political cabal led by the late Chief of Staff, the second was a family cabal influenced by the First Lady, and the third was an inner caucus coordinated by Tunde Sabiu, Buhari’s personal assistant.
He said the groups operated as power cults competing for access, influence and control over decision-making around the president.
Dalung said although the cabals were united by proximity to power, they were deeply distrustful and hostile toward one another.
The former minister said the inter-cabal conflict eventually led to him being blocked from accessing the president through official and private channels.
Dalung said on one occasion he wrote five formal letters seeking an appointment with Buhari without receiving any response.
He said he later breached protocol after a Federal Executive Council meeting and raised the issue with Buhari during lunch.
Dalung said Buhari told him plainly that further letters would be “dumped in the dustbin”.
He said Buhari advised him to wait after FEC meetings and walk with him to his office whenever he needed to discuss issues.
Dalung said that informal route became his only consistent access to the president throughout his time in government.
He said the struggle between the cabals began early in the administration, particularly between the political cabal and the family cabal.
Dalung said the conflict centred on control of the presidential villa’s feeding and maintenance budget.
He said the budget, previously managed by the office of the First Lady at about ₦500 million, was reduced to ₦100 million and taken over by the Chief of Staff.
He said the political cabal viewed the first lady as overly ambitious and feared her influence could destabilise the administration.
Dalung said the family cabal, on the other hand, saw participation in government as an avenue for economic liberation.
He said Buhari aligned more with the political cabal, a stance he said partly explained the public dissent by the first lady.
Dalung said the battles among the cabals caged Buhari and turned him into both the symbol and victim of a hijacked government.
“President Buhari was not oblivious to the fact that his government had been hijacked. He knew,” he said.
