Daniel Bwala, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on policy communication, has said there is no evidence that Abubakar Bagudu, minister of budget and economic planning, misappropriated public funds.
Bwala made the remarks during an appearance on Head to Head, a programme on Al Jazeera hosted by Mehdi Hasan. The interview examined Tinubu’s administration on issues including corruption, insecurity and political appointments.
During the discussion, Hasan challenged the government’s anti-corruption stance by citing Bagudu’s appointment to the cabinet. He referenced allegations by the United States Department of Justice that Bagudu played a role in helping to move billions of dollars linked to the late military ruler Sani Abacha.
In 2020, the US Justice Department alleged that Bagudu was part of a network controlled by Abacha that “embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria” during the 1990s.
The controversy dates back to 1999 when the Nigerian government hired Swiss lawyer Enrico Monfrini to help recover assets linked to Abacha, his family and associates in multiple countries, including Switzerland, France, Jersey and the United Kingdom.
At the time, assets connected to Bagudu who had links to the Abacha family were frozen alongside funds traced to the former ruler.
However, Bwala insisted that Bagudu’s current role in government remains untainted under Nigerian law. According to him, foreign legal actions do not amount to proof of wrongdoing within Nigeria’s judicial system.
“There is no evidence that Bagudu has misappropriated funds,” Bwala said.
“The decision of the court in the United States does not bind the Supreme Court of Nigeria. There is no evidence that that minister has misappropriated funds in the government of Nigeria.”
The comments come as the Tinubu administration faces increasing scrutiny over its anti-corruption record and key political appointments.
