Onoh Demands Sanctions Against Alwan Hassan Over Cabinet Bribery Allegations

Former South-East spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 Presidential Campaign Council and Chairman of the Forum of Former Members of Enugu State House of Assembly, Denge Josef Onoh, has demanded disciplinary sanctions against Alwan Hassan over allegations that some ministers paid billions of naira to secure their appointments.

Onoh described the allegations as “a direct insult to the Presidency” and criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, for attempting to explain Hassan’s remarks as historical references to previous administrations.

In a statement, on Thursday, Onoh said Morka’s defence of the allegations, made during a live interview on Arise News, amounted to poor damage control capable of further damaging the image of the ruling party and the Tinubu administration.

He urged the APC spokesman to stop what he described as “embarrassing justifications,” insisting that the remarks could not reasonably be dismissed as references to past governments.

Onoh cited Hassan’s statement during the interview, in which he reportedly said: “The way Asiwaju is hands-on on the expenditure of our revenue is fantastic, and I love it. Charles, 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.”

According to Onoh, when the programme’s anchor pointed out that the statement indicted the current cabinet, Hassan broadened his explanation to include previous administrations but maintained that the alleged practice was a recurring feature of Nigerian governance.

Hassan was quoted as saying: “But this is the truth I’m telling you about our country, not just APC, before APC. The biggest people, the biggest fraudulent people you arrest after every government are ministers.”

Onoh argued that Morka’s interpretation of the comments as referring only to past governments was inconsistent with Hassan’s use of the present tense and the context in which the allegations were made.

He maintained that Hassan made the remarks while discussing Tinubu’s management of national revenue and expenditure, raising questions about the appointment of ministers and the alleged payment of money to secure public offices.

Onoh also invoked Section 147 of the Nigerian Constitution, which provides for the appointment of ministers by the President, subject to Senate confirmation. He argued that allegations of payments running into billions of naira for ministerial appointments raised serious questions about the integrity of the appointment process and the institutions involved.

Describing the controversy as damaging to the APC’s international reputation, Onoh said the party risked being portrayed as an organisation in which public offices were treated as commercial investments rather than positions of public service.

He further questioned why Hassan had not faced any public disciplinary action over the allegations, arguing that the absence of a query, suspension or other sanction could fuel speculation about whether the claims enjoyed the backing of influential figures.

Onoh said that if the party leadership neither sponsored nor endorsed the allegations, it should move beyond public relations explanations and take decisive action.

While reaffirming his support for democratic governance and Tinubu’s administration, he said his intervention was motivated by a desire to protect the President and the ruling party from avoidable political damage.

He called on the President to address the controversy and urged Hassan to provide a comprehensive list of the former or serving ministers allegedly involved, identify any intermediaries and disclose the accounts into which the purported payments were made.

Onoh warned that failure to investigate the allegations and hold those responsible accountable could have serious political consequences for the APC ahead of future general elections.

He stressed that restoring public confidence required more than defending controversial statements, insisting that the allegations should be subjected to credible scrutiny and those responsible held accountable.