Billions for ministerial slot claim not about Tinubu’s govt – APC

All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed claims that ministers in President Bola Tinubu’s administration paid billions of naira for ministerial slot, saying a controversial remark by party chieftain Alwan Hassan was taken out of context.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said Hassan was speaking about past administrations and not the current government.

Morka made the clarification on Wednesday during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time, amid public reactions to Hassan’s claim that ministerial appointments involved payments worth billions of naira.

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According to Morka, Hassan’s remarks were historical in context and should not be interpreted as an allegation against the Tinubu administration.

He accused opposition figures of misrepresenting the statement to discredit the government, insisting that ministerial appointments under Tinubu were based on merit, competence and the ability to deliver on assigned responsibilities.

Morka urged Nigerians to disregard suggestions that members of Tinubu’s cabinet paid money to obtain their positions.

“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 controversy followed Hassan’s remarks on ministerial appointments, which triggered debate on social media over the process of selecting members of the Federal Executive Council.