L-R: El-Rufai, Tinubu
By Aliyu Barau
Former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has claimed that President Bola Tinubu changed his mind about appointing him as a minister.
According to him, the narrative that he was rejected by the National Assembly is false.
He disclosed this on Monday while speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s programme, Prime Time.
It would be recalled that in August 2023, the Senate withheld the confirmation of El-Rufai as a ministerial nominee, citing security reports from the State Security Service for the action.
But speaking during the Monday evening interview, El-Rufai said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu simply “changed his mind on the nomination”.
But speaking during the Monday evening interview, El-Rufai said President Bola Tinubu simply “changed his mind on his nomination”.
“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.
“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.
After sometime, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as a minister, and there were certain conditions I attached to that.
“I think along the line, either the president changed his mind or something else.
“Whatever it is, frankly, I don’t care,” he said.
