The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to controversial claims about ministers paying billions of naira to secure appointments.
It said the allegation must refer to previous administrations and not the current one headed by President Bola Tinubu’s government.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, gave the clarification during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Wednesday, following public reactions to comments made by APC Presidential Campaign Council spokesperson Alwan Hassan.
Hassan had alleged that some ministers pay billions of naira to secure government appointments and later seek to recover the money after assuming office.
He made the remarks during an interview on Arise News on October 22 while defending Tinubu’s approach to managing government revenue and expenditure.
“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,” Hassan said.
He maintained that the alleged practice was not peculiar to the APC, arguing that similar concerns existed under previous administrations.
However, Hassan did not name any minister who allegedly paid for an appointment or provide specific evidence to substantiate the claim.
Reacting to the controversy, Morka said Hassan’s remarks had been misunderstood and taken out of context, explaining that the comments were intended to refer to historical practices rather than the current administration.
“When Alwan Hassan said ministers pay billions to be appointed, he was not speaking about the current administration. It was in a historical context,” Morka said.
He acknowledged that Hassan’s general remarks had left room for different interpretations, adding that public commentators sometimes make broad statements without clearly distinguishing between different periods.
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Morka also questioned how ministers who allegedly paid billions of naira to secure appointments could recover such sums within Nigeria’s budgetary framework.
The APC spokesman maintained that appointments under Tinubu were based on merit, competence and the ability to deliver, rather than financial inducements.
The controversy has also drawn calls for accountability, with the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council urging Tinubu to investigate Hassan’s allegation and clarify whether such payments had occurred.
Despite the APC’s clarification, the allegation remains unsubstantiated. No specific minister has been identified as having paid money to secure an appointment, and no evidence of the alleged transactions has been made public.
The development has renewed questions about transparency in political appointments and the need for public officials and political parties to address allegations involving public office with verifiable evidence.
