Makinde’s campaign group asks EFCC to probe alleged sale of ministerial appointments

The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate a claim that some ministers paid billions of naira to secure appointments and later sought to recover the money while in office.

The organisation, which is championing Oyo State Governor Oluseyi Makinde’s campaign for the presidency on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), made the demand in a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Nnanna Ihediwa.

Its demand follows remarks by Alwan Hassan, a spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, who alleged during an interview on Arise Television on 23 October that some ministers paid billions of naira to secure their appointments.

“A lot of ministers pay billions and billions, and, you know, to get themselves appointed. The first thing they think of is how to recoup that money,” Mr Hassan said.

Although Mr Hassan did not identify any minister allegedly involved in the practice or name anyone who received the payments, he noted that such practice had been going on for years in the country.

However, in its statement, the MDPCO said the EFCC should independently investigate the allegation and ensure that anyone found culpable is held accountable under the law.

It also criticised President Bola Tinubu for not publicly addressing the controversy, describing the Presidency’s silence five days after the remarks as a cause for concern.

It argued that the allegation raised questions about the integrity of ministerial appointments and the possibility that public office could be treated as a financial investment to be recouped through access to public resources.

“Mr President’s silence validates public apprehension that either he is not in control or he sits in approval of a corrupt and fraudulent system where public offices are reduced to commodities sold to highest bidders with devastating consequences on governance, the welfare of Nigerians and image of our nation,” the statement read.

It urged Nigerians to demand greater transparency and accountability ahead of the 2027 presidential election, while promoting its proposed “Reset Nigeria” agenda under the APM platform.