Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has dismissed claims that the National Assembly rejected his ministerial nomination, stating that President Bola Tinubu simply “changed his mind” about appointing him to the cabinet.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Monday, monitored by Apples Bite Magazine, El-Rufai revealed that after serving as governor for eight years, he had his own plans, but the President publicly appealed to him to put those plans on hold.
“Through two months of negotiations, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as minister, and there were certain conditions I attached to that,” El-Rufai explained. “I think along the line, either the President changed his mind or something else.”
El-Rufai emphatically refuted the narrative that his nomination was blocked by lawmakers: “Please don’t believe the story that the National Assembly rejected me. The National Assembly had nothing to do with this. The President didn’t want me in his cabinet, he changed his mind.”
The former governor indicated he has moved on from the situation, noting that since then, “I’ve not said a word, I’ve not granted an interview, I’ve not commented on the government.” However, he maintained that as a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he has the right to question why the party isn’t functioning properly.
In August 2023, the Senate had withheld El-Rufai’s confirmation as a ministerial nominee, citing security reports from the State Security Service as the reason for their action.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
