By 247ureports.com
Alwan Hassan, spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, has said that ministers are among the most corrupt officials in government and that some pay billions of naira to be appointed and then work to recover the money, in a video that is being widely shared online.
“Every time a government goes out, the most criminal elements in government are ministers,” Hassan said, according to reports of the remarks. He added: “Ministers pay billions and billions to get appointed, and then they think of recouping that money.” He said ministers have featured prominently among officials accused of fraud after successive governments leave office, and questioned why ministers are needed, and why budgets are given to them, if the officials responsible for managing government spending cannot ensure that approved budgets are adequately funded. “You have not been able to successfully fund your budget,” he said.
Hassan did not name any minister or say whom he was accusing of paying for appointment, and did not offer evidence for the claim. The reports say he made clear that the concern was not confined to a particular party or administration, which means the remark reads as a criticism of the ministerial system in general rather than an accusation against the current cabinet of President Bola Tinubu, as some online captions suggest. The video does not show where or when he spoke.
Opposition parties are likely to seize on a campaign spokesman making such a statement, and a claim that ministerial posts are bought is a serious one that, if it were true, would point to offences that the anti-corruption agencies could investigate. Hassan’s remarks stop short of saying so. Neither the APC nor the Presidency had responded to the video at the time of this report.
