FACT-CHECK: Did Tinubu’s Power Minister Adelabu say “I have accumulated enough money to never be broke again”?
By KEMI KASUMU
The heat that accompanies politics in election season may have caught up with the Mister of Power under the Tinubu’s Administration in Nigeria, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, with a comment he made in Yoruba at a political gathering in his Oyo State constituency being translated in diverse manner by some online newspapers (excluding The DEFENDER).
The meeting, as captured in a video now circulating on the internet, shows that Adelabu actually attended a political meeting where he spoke to win the consciousness and interest of the people to his side. Investigating the video after it was meticulously listened to, The DEFENDER discovered that although he spoke about being self contented but that the contextual comment may have been overblown beyond content.
The report
The report circulating online says the Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, ignited a volcanic eruption of fury across the country after declaring that his financial future is now untouchable. Speaking at a recent event regarding his 2027 gubernatorial ambitions, Adelabu reportedly boasted: “Having served as Minister of Power, I have accumulated enough money that I will never be broke again, even if I never get another political appointment.”
The statement, read away from video evidence, has sent shockwaves through a nation currently “choked” by relentless grid collapses and skyrocketing electricity tariffs. While the Minister’s aides previously tried to frame his remarks as mere “satisfaction” with his career, this viral admission of massive wealth accumulation—while the national power sector remains in total shambles—is being labeled a “national embarrassment” and a “cruel insult” to the suffering masses.
Mass condemnation of the Tinubu Administration
The Nigerian public has reacted with unprecedented bitterness, viewing Adelabu’s comments as the ultimate proof of the “transactional politics” defining the President Bola Tinubu administration. From the markets of Lagos to the grieving communities in Plateau and Nasarawa, the condemnation is absolute. Outraged citizens have slammed the government for prioritizing the enrichment of its appointees over the basic survival of the people.
“He is boasting about never being broke while we are sitting in darkness and can’t afford bread,” one distraught resident in Abuja reportedly cried out. “This is the ‘Renewed Hope’ they promised—ministers getting rich while the poor are buried in darkness. Tinubu has turned governance into a commercial enterprise where every appointment is just a chance to loot.”
“A legacy of oppression and neglect”
Critics argue that Adelabu’s arrogance is a direct reflection of a government that has abandoned its primary duties. Nigerians are pointing to the sharp contrast between the Minister’s personal financial triumph and his total failure to stabilize the national grid. The masses are increasingly vocal about the hypocrisy of an administration that mobilizes the entire state apparatus to harass opposition figures like Peter Obi or intimidate journalists like Seun Okinbaloye, yet allows its own officials to flaunt their “corruption-powered” extravagance.
The memory of the “fake” and “embarrassing” presidential visit to Jos, where Tinubu reportedly mocked the lack of light just hours before a fresh massacre, remains a raw wound. To many, Adelabu’s admission is just another chapter in a story of state-sponsored neglect and the systemic crushing of the Nigerian spirit.
The consensus among the masses is that local institutions have been silenced, leaving external scrutiny as the only hope for a fair 2027 election. As Adelabu prepares for his 2027 “Èmilòkàn” gubernatorial bid in Oyo State, the cry for international sanctions and a total overhaul of the Nigerian political landscape has never been louder, says the report.
The fact
But when the video and its content were studied, the more appropriate interpretation is that, although many of the grievances expressed by the people as reported may be the true feelings of the people due to failure of the government especially in the areas of electricity, welfare of citizens while the government keeps pursuing misplaced priorities and still call that performance under renewed hope agenda, Adebulu’s true comment on that video is diverse from what is projected by the headlines.
He said, “Me alone, where God has taken me today, I say Alhamdulillahi. If I don’t anything again, (my achievement) is enough for me. Yes. But the day a man can no longer aspire to move forward, that is the day he becomes a dead man. That is why we are in it. The little we can do when we are at the Federal level, people we can fix into appointments we have.”
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