El-Rufai: Tinubu, Not National Assembly, Rejected My Ministerial Nomination

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has dismissed claims that the National Assembly rejected his ministerial nomination, insisting that President Bola Tinubu simply changed his mind.

In August 2023, the Senate withheld El-Rufai’s confirmation as a ministerial nominee, citing security reports from the State Security Service.

However, speaking in an interview on Arise TV on Monday, El-Rufai clarified that his exclusion was a decision made by the president, not the legislature.

“After serving for eight years as governor of Kaduna State, I had my plans. The president publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold, and after some time, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as a minister. 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 didn’t want me in his cabinet; he changed his mind. Whatever it is, frankly, I don’t care,” he said.