Billions in bribe allegation sparks fresh storm over Tinubu’s re-election campaign

…Claims blown out of proportion – APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has come under fresh pressure over corruption allegations against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, after Alwan Hassan, spokesperson for the ruling party’s Presidential Campaign Council, claimed that some ministers paid billions of naira to secure appointments and subsequently sought to recover their investments in office.
The allegations have triggered a political backlash amid the official launch of the Tinubu’s re-election campaign in Kaduna Saturday, with opposition figures demanding names, evidence and accountability.
“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 during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Thursday.
Hassan, who was defending the administration’s performance ahead of the 2027 elections, insisted that the alleged practice predated the APC’s emergence into power.
“It is the truth about our country and not just APC ministers; it started before the APC,” he said. He also alleged that Tinubu had deliberately withheld budgetary funds from ministries because of concerns that ministers might use the money to recover what they allegedly spent securing their appointments.
Hassan, however, did not identify any minister who allegedly paid for an appointment or name anyone who purportedly received the money, leaving the claims unsubstantiated by specific evidence in his public remarks.
The controversy came as Tinubu launches his re-election campaign in Kaduna, placing corruption and accountability at the centre of the political debate over his administration’s record.
Atiku Abubakar, former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has challenged Tinubu to identify the ministers involved and disclose the alleged recipients of the payments.
“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 on his X handle on Friday.
The ADC candidate also linked the allegations to the economic hardship facing Nigerians, accusing the administration of making reckless policy decisions that had worsened the cost-of-living crisis.
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 said.
‘Corruption allegations a threat to Tinubu’s re-election campaign’
But reacting to the development, Chekwas Okorie, a former presidential candidate, warned that the fresh corruption allegations against the Tinubu administration could undermine the APC’s 2027 re-election campaign.
Okorie, an elder statesman, told BusinessDay in a telephone interview that the administration had paid insufficient attention to corruption, creating public perceptions that it was encouraging the practice.
“Anybody who is observant and is following the Tinubu administration’s performance and actions will agree with this. This particular government has paid little attention to corruption. It appears as if they are designed to encourage corruption,” he said.
He cited past comments by APC chieftains suggesting that politicians who joined the party would be shielded from corruption probes, arguing that such remarks had reinforced concerns about accountability.
Okorie also criticised the administration’s appointments and distribution of infrastructure, describing them as sectional, while faulting President Tinubu’s campaign activities in Kaduna amid the detention of Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of the state.
Similarly, Bernard Mikko, a political scientist and former House of Representatives member, told BusinessDay that the allegations contradicted the APC’s promise to fight corruption, insecurity and economic hardship.
“Nigerians were waiting for facts. Now, there is confession in the system. What you have is not even the facts, but confessions by themselves,” Mikko said.
He urged Nigerians to use their permanent voter cards to vote in 2027 and effect a change of government.
More scandals in Tinubu administration
BusinessDay reports that the controversy adds to previous corruption-related disputes involving the administration, including the suspension of Betta Edu, former minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, in January 2024 following a controversy over the transfer of N585.2 million in public funds into a private bank account.
Edu was subsequently removed from office in October 2024.
More recently, allegations concerning purported payments for appointments and kickbacks linked to a controversial federal agency had raised further questions about the integrity of public appointments in the Tinubu administration.
The judiciary has also faced renewed scrutiny following concerns raised by retired Supreme Court Justice Amina Adamu Augie, who warned that corruption involving judges, lawyers and court officials was eroding public confidence in the justice system.
Describing the courts as increasingly resembling “market stalls”, Augie warned that declining public trust in the judiciary could have serious consequences for the administration of justice.
With the 2027 election approaching, the latest controversy has intensified debate over whether the administration can convincingly defend its anti-corruption credentials while campaigning for another four-year term.

Claims blown out of proportion – APC

But Bala Ibrahim, APC National Director of Publicity, has dismissed allegations that billions of naira were paid to secure political appointments under President Tinubu, describing the controversy as exaggerated and misinterpreted.
Ibrahim, who spoke with BusinessDay on Saturday, said Alwan Hassan’s remarks had been taken out of context, insisting that no rational person would spend billions to secure an office whose remuneration could not justify such an investment.
“The issue of what Alwan Hassan said is misinterpreted and blown out of proportion. I am not holding brief for him, but I can tell you he meant no bad,” Ibrahim said.
He suggested that Hassan might have exaggerated his point during a combative interview, arguing that people often seek appointments because they believe they can contribute to government and party objectives.
“How can someone spend a billion to get a position? The salary of a minister is less than N1 million, and even with allowances, you cannot make N10 million at the end of the year,” he argued.
Ibrahim also dismissed concerns that the controversy could undermine the APC’s 2027 campaign, predicting that it would “die a natural death.”
He accused opposition parties of exploiting political statements, describing the controversy as “making a storm out of a deep hole.”