The spokesperson of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of corruption and incompetence, citing allegations by Alwan Hassan that ministers pay billions of naira to secure appointments and may prioritise recouping their investments over the welfare of Nigerians.

Recall that Alwan Hassan, in an interview on Arise News, alleged that some ministers pay billions of naira to secure appointments and subsequently seek to recoup the money, claiming the practice predates the APC-led administration.”

However, Hassan clarified that he was not referring specifically to ministers serving under the APC-led government, saying the practice predated the party.

Reacting to the allegation, Okonkwo argued that the claim raised questions about corruption within the Tinubu administration, citing the constitutional roles of the President and Senate in the appointment of ministers.

“Alwan came in here and said it clearly that ministers—and I’m talking about paraphrasing it—ministers in Tinubu’s regime pay billions to be appointed. And if you allow them, they would have to recoup the billions before they think about the people. And he said this is the reason Tinubu is doing it alone.

“But Alwan forgot when he was saying that ministers pay billions, that according to section one for the summon of the Nigerian Constitution, subsection one, it is the president that establishes the posts of ministers and appoints anybody to it. And subsection two says it is the Senate that confirms the appointment. So if anybody is paying anybody money in billions to be appointed, he’s paying it either to the presidency or the Senate, because they are the people constitutionally bestowed with the power to appoint the ministers.

“So you can see the nexus that this government is absolutely corrupt and incompetent.”

Okonkwo maintained that the alleged payment of billions for ministerial appointments was an APC affair, insisting that individuals implicated in the scandal should face trial equally.

“Alwan is a spokesperson of the APC. Tinubu inherited the presidency from another APC government. So, if it predated Tinubu, it is still landing on APC’s head, and Alwan has been there from the beginning. It’s an APC affair, paying billions.”

He said an Atiku Abubakar-led administration would implement the Oronsaye Report to eliminate redundant and overlapping government agencies, while ensuring direct allocation of funds to local governments.

“What would Atiku Abubakar do differently? Atiku Abubakar has publicly announced he is going to implement the Oronsaye report. Oronsaye report will help you identify the agencies that are redundant, that are fake, and that are overflapping each other. And then you will now have to streamline them, you have to merge them, and you have to eliminate the fake ones. Atiku Abubakar is very clear in that restructuring, just as he’s very clear that he’s going to transfer the money of local governments direct to them.”

On the redeployment of Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi to head INEC’s Electoral Operations Department, Okonkwo argued that her husband, Segun Showunmi, who is involved in President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign, raises concerns about potential bias given the department’s responsibility for distributing electoral materials, deploying ad hoc staff and coordinating polling unit operations on election day.

“First and foremost, theologically, the husband and the wife are one. So it’s assumed, it’s not even by his wife, it’s assumed given by God that the person sitting there as the electoral operation department officer is Showunmi. In law, we’re not talking about whether there will be bias. We’re saying that anything that has the likelihood of bias is not allowed.

“So, allowing the wife of Showunmi to be the electoral operation department officer just before the election, there is absolute likelihood of bias.”

Okonkwo argued that the redeployment of Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi raised concerns about INEC’s neutrality, alleging it could be part of a deliberate attempt to rig the 2027 elections in favour of President Tinubu.

“That’s why we’re saying that if Amupitan seriously believes that he wants to conduct an election that will be perceived as free, fair, and credible, that woman should not be there.

“So, you see, for me, and this is my own opinion, my submission is that this is a deliberate attempt to ensure that the election is rigged, to pronounce Tinubu as president, maybe eliminating the technical glitch.” (Arise News)