Solomon Dalung, a former Minister of Youth and Sports, has explained the influence of cabals in Nigerian governance.
He spoke on the Mic On Podcast published on Sunday.
Dalung, who served as minister in the first term of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, alleged how a powerful group hijacked power after the former president's victory in 2015.
Asked to describe what a cabal means, he said it is "a group of ambitious people who were also appointed by the same president to help him govern but they will run his presidency at their own expense and interest."
He revealed that shortly after Buhari's election, a powerful group emerged from "nowhere," sidelining those who had campaigned for the president.
"When the president was declared winner, I was with him in his office. I went to see him in the evening. That very day, I was blocked from going into his house, and this was the same place as the last night of the previous day, I was there till 2 a.m.
"I was blocked until I had to make calls before I was allowed to go in till I was able to make calls to assess Buhari before I was allowed. So, from that day, the cabal had taken over," Dalung said.
He continued: "The people who truly worked for Buhari went celebrating and left the president vulnerable. These people, who understood power, took over and ran the government to their interest until eight years were gone."
Daily Trust reports that after Buhari assumed power in 2015, there were several reports and references to a certain "cabal" controlling his government.
