ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule has once again denied claims that he tampered with the list of candidates nominated to represent the party in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures.

Speaking days after state security minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba allegedly claimed that he replaced certain names with those he preferred to the Independent Electoral Commission last month, Magashule has reiterated that due process was followed.

"The list has not been changed. The list presented to the IEC is the list presented to the extended national working committee where provinces were all present on March 22 before we went to register the list," said Magashule.

"We decided to brief the NEC [national executive committee] on the update on the lists because we heard different voices out there... people thinking the list has been changed and as the chair of the list, we decided as SGO (secretary-general's office] that it will be important to brief the entire [NEC] meeting."

Magashule was speaking to reporters during a lunch break of the special NEC meeting yesterday held at St George Hotel in Tshwane.

The meeting was expected to hear calls for people implicated in corruption and state capture to step aside from the party's list.

"The list was adopted by the list conference; the NEC and we have interacted with the list from time to time. We have clarified the issue with comrade Dipuo which was raised and she indeed said she was not the one that raised the matter," he said.

Turning to details contained in a new book penned by journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh titled "Gangster State - Unravelling Ace Magashule's Web of Capture, Magashule said he was mulling legal action against the author.

"I don't want to enter that space... You see, I'm only worried because I'm considering the legal route but all the time you write allegations, you don't write facts," said Magashule.

The book says that leaked files show Magashule tapped into proceeds of a whopping R230m asbestos audit deal awarded by the Free State provincial human settlements department back in 2014 when he was still the premier.

On Sunday, the ANC came out in defence of Magashule, saying it views the allegations in the book as a highly personalised and well-coordinated attack against Magashule and his office, which is the administrative engine of the party.