Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, has stated that his ministerial nomination by President Bola Tinubu in 2023 was not rejected by the Senate, but rather withdrawn by the President himself.
In an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday night, El-Rufai explained that President Tinubu simply “changed his mind” about the ministerial appointment.
“The National Assembly had nothing to do with it; the president didn’t want me in his cabinet,” El-Rufai said.
He also criticized the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), claiming that the party’s organs have been inactive since Tinubu took office.
“I’m a founding member of the APC, but I’m concerned about how the party is being run… How many people sacrificed to ensure it was an internally democratic party with progressive ideals? Two years after the election of President Tinubu, none of the party organs are functioning, and the progressive ideals are not being pursued with any vigour,” he added.
El-Rufai revealed that after extensive negotiations, Tinubu personally asked for his support and assured him of a ministerial nomination, which came with certain conditions. However, the President later withdrew the offer.
“After I left office, the president publicly begged me to support him, and I said I would, expecting nothing in return. I’m a self-made man. Through two months of negotiations, we finally agreed he would nominate me as minister, and I attached certain conditions to that. Somewhere along the line, the president changed his mind. Don’t believe the story that the National Assembly rejected me—they had nothing to do with it. The president didn’t want me in his cabinet,” he said.
Regarding the alleged security concerns cited for his rejection, El-Rufai challenged the claim, demanding to see the report.
“What was the security issue the National Assembly had against me? Where is the report? There were far less qualified, less experienced people who made it because the president made a call. He’s a human being, and he’s entitled to change his mind,” he concluded.
