A former Special Adviser to ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Alwan Hassan, on Tuesday backed down and publicly apologised to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin after accusing them of collecting a $10 million bribe to drop President Bola Tinubu’s nominee for Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Abdullahi Ramat.
Hassan’s apology comes just a week after the Senate threatened to drag him to court over the allegation, which had triggered outrage in political circles amid mounting distrust around federal appointments in the power sector — a sector already under heavy public criticism over tariff hikes and persistent blackouts.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja, Hassan traced the controversy to his push for Ramat’s confirmation, recalling how the nominee was screened and ‘strongly recommended’ by the Senate Committee on Power before his name mysteriously disappeared from the Order Paper.
The APC stalwart also admitted granting interviews in which he made disparaging claims against the Senate leadership and repeated rumours alleging they had received a $10 million bribe, a claim he now says was based on misleading conversations and false assumptions.
He said, ‘I also referenced a claim alleging that they received $10 million in bribes to stall Ramat’s confirmation. That allegation came from conversations I had while trying to understand the issues.
‘I have since come to realise that the claim was not only untrue, but unfair and uncharitable to both the National Assembly and its leadership’.
Hassan consequently announced that he had retracted the allegation and is willing to tender a public apology to the Senate, Akpabio and Barau.
He also appealed to lawmakers to look beyond his recent excesses and revisit Ramat’s stalled appointment.
‘I therefore retract that statement fully and unreservedly, and I apologise to the National Assembly and its leadership for those accusations’, he said.
The Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, had last week dismissed Hassan as ‘one innocuous Alwan Hassan’ acting as ‘a hand-tool’ to the nominee.
Adaramodu insisted no bribe was offered or taken, saying the Red Chamber stepped down Ramat’s confirmation due to ‘public and private complaints’ lodged against him.
‘Many nominees have stepped down due to such public outcry. The case of Mr Ramat is not an exception’, he stated.
The Senate also accused Hassan of attempting to blackmail the institution and vowed to compel him to provide evidence in court.
‘The Senate would definitely engage Mr Alwan at the court, to provide Nigerians with the proof of his assertions’, Adaramodu warned.
Hassan, however, said his actions were driven by passion and advocacy gone too far, thanking political allies and friends who supported him during what he described as his ‘recent engagement with the Nigerian Police Force’.
Ramat’s confirmation remains suspended as the Senate continues to review petitions and concerns surrounding his nomination.
