Alwan Hassan, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has claimed that 95 percent of ministers who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari should be in prison over alleged corruption.
Hassan made the allegation on Tuesday while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Asked about growing scrutiny of officials who served under Buhari, Hassan said: “95 per cent of the ministers under Buhari should be in jail by now.”
He added: “There has never been a time when ministers got free hands without supervision like Buhari’s eight years in office.”
Hassan said Buhari had once warned his ministers to keep their documents ready for future accountability.
He said: “You’ve heard what people are saying; the former president even told them to keep their documents ready because there will come a day when they’ll be asked to explain themselves; maybe he has seen what they are doing.”
The APC chieftain alleged that corruption was widespread during Buhari’s tenure from 2015 to 2023, adding that a small number of officials were not involved in wrongdoing.
Hassan said: “Those good men around those years are the 5 per cent; there are a few good people, very few good men around.”
He attributed the alleged abuse to lack of oversight, describing Buhari’s administration as a “free-for-all”.
Hassan said: “There has never been a time when government budgets were 100 per cent released without interference by the presidency like Buhari’s time; ministers were given free rein; they did what they wanted.
“Everyone was his own cabal; if you got the chance to meet Buhari and explain things, you became a cabal. The nation was at peace; people were doing what they wanted; if you were appointed under Buhari, your job was largely abdicated to you; there was no supervision.”
Hassan made comparisons of Buhari’s era with the current administration of President Bola Tinubu.
He said: “This government is hands-on; if you’re talking about government finance, it’s Asiwaju; everyone knows this. Contractors like me are still shouting about unpaid sums; he is careful; he knows his priorities; it is not business as usual.”
