Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna, says Nigerians should not believe the narrative that the national assembly rejected him as a ministerial nominee.
Speaking in an interview with Arise TV on Monday, el-Rufai said President Bola Tinubu did not want him in his cabinet.
The former Kaduna governor said the president begged him publicly for him to suspend his plans for ministerial appointment.
“The president publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold, and through two months of negotiation, we finally agreed that he will nominate me as minister,” he said.
“There were certain conditions I attached to that. I think along the line either the president changed his mind or something else.
“Please don’t believe the story that the national assembly rejected me. The president did not want me in his cabinet. He changed his mind.”
In July 2024, Tinubu sent the list of ministerial nominees, including el-Rufai, to the senate for screening and confirmation.
In August 2024, the senate withheld the nomination of el-Rufai, Stella Okotete (Delta), and Danladi Abubakar (Taraba), citing security clearance.
The development was interpreted by political analysts as a move to whittle down the influence of the former Kaduna governor in the presidency.
Reacting to the senate’s refusal to screen him, el-Rufai said Tinubu changed his mind, noting that the security clearance cited by the upper chamber was a smokescreen.
The former Kaduna governor questioned what security concerns could have prevented his confirmation, given that he had spent over two decades in public service.
He added ministerial nominees who are “less qualified” were confirmed by the senate because the president made a call.
El-Rufai said the president publicly pleaded with him to delay his plans for a ministerial appointment to help address the country’s electricity challenge.
“The president publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold, and through two months of negotiation, we finally agreed that he will nominate me as minister,” he said.
“There were certain conditions I attached to that. I think along the line either the president changed his mind or something else.
“Please don’t believe the story that the national assembly rejected me. The president did not want me in his cabinet. He changed his mind. “
“What was the security issue? I had been a governor for 8 years in one of the most difficult states in the country. I had been a minister twenty years earlier. I have been in public life for the last 25 years.
