The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied claims that ministers serving under President Bola Tinubu paid billions of naira to secure their appointments.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, made the clarification during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Wednesday.
Morka maintained that the controversial remarks by APC chieftain Alwan Hassan concerned previous administrations and were not directed at the current government.
PUNCH Online had reported that Hassan, a spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, alleged that some ministers paid substantial sums to secure government appointments and subsequently sought to recover the money after assuming office.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Thursday, October 22, while defending Tinubu’s management of government revenue and expenditure, Hassan said, “The way Asiwaju is hands-on on the expenditure of our revenue is fantastic and I love it. A lot of ministers pay billions and billions, and, you know, to get themselves appointed. The first thing they think of is how to recoup that money.”
He also argued that the alleged practice was not limited to the ruling party, saying, “But this is the truth I’m telling you about our country. Not just APC. Before APC, the biggest fraudulent people you arrest after every government are ministers.”
However, Hassan did not name any minister who allegedly paid for an appointment or provide specific evidence to substantiate the claims.
His remarks sparked controversy, prompting questions about whether financial inducements influenced ministerial appointments and the identities of those who allegedly received the money.
In response, Morka said Hassan’s comments had been taken out of context and wrongly interpreted as an allegation against the Tinubu administration. He accused opposition figures of using the remarks to undermine the government.
“When Alwan Hassan said ministers pay billions to be appointed, he was not speaking about the current administration. It was in a historical context.
“His frame of thought was not talking about the present but the past. As a public commentator, you sometimes generalise without drawing lines,” Morka said.
The APC spokesperson insisted that ministerial appointments under Tinubu were based on merit, competence and the ability to deliver results, rather than financial inducements.
He urged Nigerians to disregard claims suggesting that members of the President’s cabinet paid money to secure their positions.