Renowned leadership coach and former presidential candidate of the defunct Alliance for New Nigeria, Fela Durotoye, has shared how he turned down an opportunity to illegally acquire N5bn in a fraudulent government deal—despite intense pressure from an official who identified as a pastor.

Speaking on Tuesday at the ongoing biannual conference of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria in Abuja, Durotoye described the incident as a defining test of integrity.

According to a Church Times Nigeria report on Wednesday, he explained that the official had approached him with a highly lucrative training contract, stating that he had already been chosen for the role. The program was designed to provide training across all 774 local government areas of Nigeria within eight weeks, and he was assured that he met all necessary qualifications.

When asked to submit an invoice, Durotoye and his team carefully calculated the cost, ensuring it reflected only actual expenses. Their final estimate came to N1.3bn.

However, just three days later, he received a call from the presidency that changed everything.

“I was congratulated on securing the job,” he recalled. “But then they said my proposed amount was too low. They offered to increase it by N700m to make it N2bn and then instructed me to submit an invoice for N5bn.”

Shocked by the demand to inflate the cost—especially for a program focused on ethical leadership—he questioned the morality of the request.

The official, however, dismissed his concerns.

“He assured me that he wasn’t cheating Nigeria,” Durotoye said. “He claimed he had served the country and deserved compensation. When I reminded him that true blessings come from God without sorrow, he countered, ‘There is no sorrow in this. You have been doing good for Nigeria; now, it is time for Nigeria to do good for you.’”

As pressure mounted, Durotoye made a decisive move—he turned off his phone.

Three months later, news broke that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had arrested several presidency officials for siphoning N426m from an ethical leadership training fund.

Reflecting on the experience, he stressed the importance of strong moral values.

“Only your values can help you resist corruption,” he stated.

Durotoye also shed light on his time as Special Assistant to the President under the Tinubu administration.

“I did not accept an official car, a house, or even a salary for serving,” he revealed. “In fact, I was told that my refusal to take those benefits made it difficult for some people in government to implicate me in corruption.”

Despite the challenges, he acknowledged that he met like-minded individuals in government who shared his commitment to integrity.

“When we uphold the right values, corruption will have no place in this country,” he concluded.