BY EDMOND ODOK – Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to identify those who allegedly received bribes from ministers seeking appointments.
This is as he also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of worsening the cost-of-living crisis and withholding funds from Ministries that could have been deployed for productive activities.
Posting on his X handle on Friday, Atiku cited remarks attributed to a presidential campaign spokesperson alleging that ministers paid billions of Naira to secure their positions.
According to him: “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.”
Also holding the President accountable for the current state of things in the country, the former Vice President said: “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.”
Meanwhile, speaking through his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, the ADC Presidential flag-bearer called for an investigation into allegations that some ministers paid huge sums of money for their appointments.
In a statement also posted on X, Ibe attributed the allegation to Alwan Hassan, a spokesperson for Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council, saying: “Nigerians did not hear this allegation from the opposition. It came from Alwan Hassan, a spokesperson for Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council, who alleged that some ministers paid billions of Naira to secure appointments and subsequently sought to recover their money.”
Describing the allegation as grave and deserving of answers from the presidency, Ibe asked: “Which ministers paid? Who collected the money? What evidence does Hassan possess? And what does President Tinubu know?”
The Media Aide, who warned that purchasing public office could undermine service delivery, said: “The danger is obvious: when public office becomes a purchased investment, public service risks becoming an exercise in capital recovery. Citizens seeking better healthcare, education, electricity and jobs become secondary to officeholders seeking returns.”
According to him, if substantiated, the allegation would raise questions about the administration’s priorities, adding, “If Hassan’s allegation is true, Nigerians deserve to know whether their ministries are serving the public or servicing private investments.”
Claiming that Hassan reportedly made the remarks while defending restrictions on funding to Ministries, Ibe argued that withholding funds could not substitute for investigating alleged corruption because, “Nigerians must not be denied essential services because officials allegedly bought their appointments.”
He called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to obtain Hassan’s evidence and investigate anyone implicated, saying: “The EFCC and ICPC should obtain Hassan’s evidence and investigate everyone implicated, irrespective of office or political connection.”
Further querying the seeming nonchalance of both anti-graft agencies in probing the statement by Hassan, Atiku Aide asked: “Were opposition leaders the subjects of these allegations, would the agencies be waiting this patiently?”
He said it was important for the President to address the matter directly, insisting that:“His campaign cannot ask Nigerians to renew his mandate while its own spokesperson raises questions about whether access to his cabinet carries a price tag. Nigeria’s ministries are a public trust. Nigerians deserve ministers committed to public service, not the recovery of an alleged purchase price.”
