{
  "id": 17033426,
  "title": "Ministers-pay-billions claim was about past governments — APC",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/ministers-pay-billions-claim-was-about-past-governments-apc-17033426",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-29T08:40:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/ministers-pay-billions-claim-was-about-past-governments-apc/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The All Progressives Congress (APC) has refuted claims that ministers serving under President Bola Tinubu received billions of naira to secure their appointments. The party's National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, clarified this during an interview on Arise Television's Prime Time. Morka stated that a controversial remark by APC chieftain Alwan Hassan, which alleged that some ministers pay huge sums to obtain government appointments and seek to recover the money after assuming office, was not referring to the current administration but rather to previous ones. Hassan had made the allegation, but it lacked identifying any specific minister or providing evidence of the purported transactions. The APC spokesman emphasized that the statements made by Hassan were taken out of context and wrongly interpreted as an accusation against Tinubu's administration. He further defended the merit-based appointments under Tinubu, stating that the government's decisions on ministerial positions were based on competency and ability to deliver, rather than financial inducements.",
  "summary": "The All Progressives Congress has clarified that a statement regarding ministers paying billions of naira for appointments was directed at past governments rather than the current Tinubu administration. Felix Morka, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, made this clarification during an interview on Arise Television.\n\nThe controversy follows comments made by Alwan Hassan, a spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council. According to Punch Nigeria, Hassan alleged that some ministers pay massive sums to secure appointments and then attempt to recoup those funds after taking office. Hassan stated that this practice is not unique to the APC, noting that fraudulent ministers are often arrested following previous administrations.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}