A former Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has alleged that the cabal in President Bola Tinubu’s government was responsible for dropping Dr Maryam Shettima, also known as Shetty, from the list of ministerial nominees.
He made this claim on Tuesday on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.
Shetty, a political and social activist from Kano State, was initially nominated by Tinubu as a minister, but her name was later replaced with that of Mariya Mahmoud.
The reason for the withdrawal was not officially stated, but some reports suggested that Shetty was a staunch supporter of former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Dalung, who served as a cabinet minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2019, said that he also faced the same fate as Shetty because of his outspokenness.
He said he had a pact with Buhari to speak freely, which made him unpopular with some power brokers in the presidency.
“Even now, there is a cabal in Tinubu’s government, and they will always exist. They are a group of ambitious people with different ambitions within the power base set to hijack power and protect their interests.
“How would a ministerial nominee from Kano State find her name in the list and was told that she isn’t on the list upon confirmation?”
When asked if he would be willing to serve under Tinubu, Dalung said, “On the condition that they would not padlock this mouth”.
Dalung, who hails from Plateau State, contested for the House of Representatives seat on the platform of the Social Democratic Party in 2019, after resigning from the ruling All Progressives Congress. He lost to Beni Lar of the Peoples Democratic Party, who polled 42,008 votes.