ADC-PCC challenges Tinubu to explain alleged payments for ministerial appointments

By Luminous Jannamike The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has challenged President Bola Tinubu to explain an allegation by his campaign spokesperson, Alwan Hassan, that some ministers allegedly paid to secure their appointments and are now seeking to recover their investments. The council said the allegation raises troubling questions about the integrity of ministerial appointments and whether public offices are being treated as private investments.

In a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the ADC-PCC demanded an explanation from the Presidency, insisting that the allegation could not be ignored. “If substantiated, such an allegation would represent a grave indictment of the process through which public offices are filled and the principles of public service,” it said.

Hassan was reportedly speaking during a live television programme when he alleged that some ministers paid to secure their positions and were now focused on recouping their investments. The ADC-PCC said the claim, if established, would raise concerns about whether the interests of Nigerians were being subordinated to the financial interests of those entrusted with public responsibility.

“Public office is a responsibility, not a commercial transaction. Ministerial appointments must be guided by competence, integrity and a commitment to national service—not by financial inducements or expectations of private returns,” the council stressed. It called on Tinubu to address the nation on whether he was aware of the allegation and what steps his administration intended to take, while challenging Hassan to identify the ministers allegedly involved, disclose the amounts paid and name the recipients.

The council also urged the EFCC and ICPC to investigate the allegation and the National Assembly to conduct a public inquiry, including inviting Hassan to substantiate his reported claims. Warning that silence from the Presidency would deepen public concern, the ADC-PCC said Nigerians deserved a government in which public appointments were made in the national interest, not to facilitate the recovery of private investments.

With the 2027 general election approaching, the council urged Nigerians to scrutinise the accountability of political leaders, describing former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential candidacy as an alternative for governance and national renewal.