Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu, not the National Assembly, was responsible for his exclusion from the ministerial list.
Speaking on Tuesday during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time, El-Rufai dismissed claims that his nomination was rejected by the Senate over security concerns.
“The National Assembly had nothing to do with it, the president didn’t want me in his cabinet,” El-Rufai stated unequivocally.
El-Rufai, a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), also voiced concerns over the current state of the party’s leadership.
READ ALSO: El-Rufai To Gov Sani: You Are Backing Tinubu For Personal Gains
He lamented that since Tinubu assumed office, the APC’s core organs had become inactive, deviating from its original progressive ideals.
“I’m a founding member of the APC, but I have concerns about how the party is being run. Many people sacrificed a lot to ensure that it was an internally democratic party with progressive ideals.
Two years after the election of President Tinubu, none of the party organs is functioning. The progressive ideals are not being pursued with any vigour,” he said.
El-Rufai revealed that after extensive negotiations, Tinubu had personally requested his support and assured him of a ministerial nomination. However, despite agreeing to certain conditions, the president later withdrew the offer.
“Since I left office, the president begged me publicly to support him, and I said I would, but I didn’t want anything. I am a self-made man; I don’t need anything.
READ ALSO: SDP Holds Strategic Meeting With El-Rufai, Al-Mustapha Ahead Of 2027 Elections
After two months of negotiations, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as minister with certain conditions. But along the line, either the president changed his mind or something else happened.
Please 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 reiterated.
Addressing the alleged security concerns cited as a reason for his rejection, El-Rufai challenged the claim, stating that no report had been presented against him.
“What was the security issue the National Assembly had against me? Where is the report? There were far less qualified, less experienced individuals who scaled through because the president made a call. He is a human being; he’s entitled to change his mind,” he said.