Alwan Hassan apology follows the retraction of a $10m bribery claim against Senate leaders as tensions ease over the stalled NERC appointment

A formal Alwan Hassan apology was issued in Abuja on Tuesday after the former Special Adviser to ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo publicly withdrew his allegation that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin collected a $10m bribe to halt the confirmation of Abdullahi Ramat as Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.

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Hassan, who had spent the past week in a political firestorm, stepped back from the claim he once repeated in interviews, calling it a misunderstanding fuelled by misleading conversations and unfounded assumptions.

His statement comes after the Senate threatened legal action, describing his accusation as reckless and damaging.

Addressing journalists, he recounted his initial push for Ramat’s confirmation and his confusion when the nominee’s name, despite being strongly recommended by the Senate Committee on Power, vanished from the Order Paper. This, he said, created a climate of suspicion that fed into the rumour he later voiced.

He admitted that the allegation of a $10m bribe was not only false but also unfair to the National Assembly. In what he described as a moment of misplaced passion, Hassan conceded that his advocacy for Ramat’s appointment had crossed the line.

In the Alwan Hassan Apology, he retracted the allegation fully and appealed to lawmakers to forgive what he termed an overzealous reaction to a sensitive political process.

He urged the Senate to reconsider Ramat’s stalled nomination.

The Senate, through its spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu, rebutted Hassan’s earlier claims with force, insisting no bribe was offered or accepted.

Adaramodu described Ramat’s halted confirmation as a response to public and private complaints, stressing that several nominees before him had been asked to step aside in similar circumstances.

The Senate also vowed to press its case in court should Hassan fail to substantiate his allegations, accusing him of attempting to blackmail the institution.

Hassan said his recent run-ins with the Nigerian Police Force had provided clarity, and he expressed gratitude to supporters who stood by him through what he called an intense and humbling episode.

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Ramat’s confirmation remains on hold as the Senate continues reviewing petitions and concerns surrounding his appointment, leaving uncertainty hanging over one of the most sensitive regulatory roles in Nigeria’s power sector.