APC Denies Claims Ministers Paid for Appointments

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied claims that ministers under President Bola Tinubu paid billions of naira for their appointments.

Felix Morka, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, made this clear during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Wednesday.

Morka explained that a statement by APC chieftain Alwan Hassan was about past governments, not the current one.

PUNCH Online reported that Hassan, who is a spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, claimed some ministers pay large sums to get government positions and then try to recover the money after taking office.

In an interview on Arise News on Thursday, October 22, while defending Tinubu’s handling of government funds, 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 said this practice is not only found in the ruling party, adding, “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.”

Hassan did not name any minister who paid for their appointment or give any specific proof of these payments. His comments raised concerns about whether money played a role in ministerial appointments and who might have received these sums.

Morka said Hassan's words were taken out of context and wrongly seen as an accusation against the Tinubu government. He claimed opposition figures were using the statement to harm the reputation of 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 generalize without drawing lines,” Morka said.

The APC spokesman stressed that appointments under Tinubu are based on merit, skill, and the ability to perform, not on financial payments. He encouraged Nigerians to ignore any claims that ministers in the President’s cabinet paid money to get their positions.