‘Who Collected the Billions?’ HURIWA Demands Independent Probe Into Tinubu’s Cabinet Slots

ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to break his silence and order an independent investigation into explosive allegations that several ministers paid billions of naira to buy their slots in his cabinet.

The rights group directed its demand to the Presidency following comments made by Alwan Hassan, a spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council.

HURIWA warned that continued silence from the Presidency, alongside institutional inaction from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Code of Conduct Bureau, risks validating public suspicion of systemic corruption at the highest level of government.

The group demanded to know who allegedly paid billions of naira for cabinet seats and who received the money or facilitated these backroom transactions. It also questioned whether public officials involved in soliciting or arranging the payments and whether appointees have abused their offices to recover their “financial outlays”.

Demands for Accountability

HURIWA stated that an allegation of this magnitude cannot be swept under the carpet with public relations manoeuvres or delayed until public outrage subsides. The group raised alarms over the severe implications of monetised public offices, questioning whether ministers who allegedly invested billions to secure appointments could ever serve the public interest without attempting to recoup their investments through state machinery.

The association also urged anti-graft agencies to prove that their statutory duties do not stop where politically influential figures begin, cautioning against a dual justice system that aggressively pursues critics while ignoring allegations tied to the corridors of power.