Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged President Bola Tinubu to disclose the identities of individuals who allegedly collected billions of naira in bribes from ministers seeking appointments into his administration.
Atiku’s demand followed allegations by Alwan Hassan, a spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, who claimed that some ministers pay huge sums to secure government positions and later seek to recover the money after taking office.
The former vice president raised the issue in a post on his X account on Friday.
He questioned who received the alleged payments and called on the president to explain what happened to the money, given that the appointments were made under his authority.
“Bola @officialABAT, your campaign spokesman has admitted that ministers paid billions in bribes to secure their appointments. You appointed them, so who received the money? Nigerians deserve names, not silence,” Atiku wrote.
He argued that the allegation required a direct response from the presidency, particularly because of the sums reportedly involved and the public responsibilities of those appointed to serve in the government.
Atiku also linked the controversy to the economic difficulties facing Nigerians.
He accused the Tinubu administration of making decisions that had worsened the cost-of-living crisis and questioned the government’s approach to releasing funds for ministries.
“Your government’s reckless decisions have driven the cost-of-living crisis. And when you withhold funds from ministries because you distrust your own ministers, Nigerians are left paying for a government that has abandoned them,” he added.
Hassan made the initial claim during an interview on Arise News on Thursday, where he was defending Tinubu’s administration ahead of the 2027 general election.
During the programme, the APC campaign spokesperson alleged that some individuals pay billions of naira to obtain ministerial positions.
He claimed that recovering the money becomes a priority for some appointees once they assume office.
“A lot of ministers pay billions to be appointed, and the first thing they think of is how to recoup that money after being appointed,” Hassan said.
He further argued that the alleged practice was not exclusive to the current administration or the APC, maintaining that it had existed before the party came to power.
“It is the truth about our country and not just APC ministers; it started before the APC,” he added.
However, Hassan did not identify any minister who had allegedly paid money to secure an appointment.
He also did not name any individual, official or institution that supposedly received the payments during the interview, leaving the central details of the allegation unaddressed.
The allegations remain unsubstantiated in the statements presented by both men. No specific evidence of a payment, the identity of an alleged payer or the person who supposedly received the money was provided in the remarks cited in the exchange.
During the same Arise News interview, Hassan defended the Tinubu government’s record by pointing to initiatives in the power and education sectors.
He cited government support for electricity metering and the renovation of primary schools and classrooms as examples of work undertaken by the administration.
Atiku, however, used the bribery allegation to question the integrity of the ministerial appointment process and demand greater transparency from the government.
The issue also raises questions about the safeguards used to ensure that appointments to public office are based on qualifications, experience and the ability to serve rather than financial considerations.
If substantiated, allegations that candidates paid large sums to secure ministerial positions would warrant clarification from the relevant authorities and could raise concerns about the integrity of public appointments.
Atiku has not provided separate evidence to substantiate the alleged transactions in his response.
His intervention was instead directed at Tinubu, asking the president to identify those allegedly involved and explain who received the money.
