Ministerial nominees: Tinubu changed his mind; I was never rejected by NASS – El-Rufai

The former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has disclosed that the National Assembly accepted him as a ministerial nominee.

The Informant247 had, in August 2023, reported how the Senate failed to confirm El-Rufai as a ministerial nominee, owing to the security reports from the State Security Service for the action.

However, speaking on Monday during an interview on Arise TV, El-Rufai said President Bola Tinubu “changed his mind on the nomination.”

I’ve been hearing rumours of my possible arrest – El-Rufai

“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 through two months of negotiations, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as minister, and there were certain conditions I attached to that. I think along the line, either the president changed his mind or something else.

“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 National Assembly had nothing to do with this; the President didn’t want me in his cabinet, so he changed his mind. Whatever it is, I don’t care, and I’ve moved on.

“Since I’ve moved on, I’ve not said a word, I’ve not granted an interview, I’ve not commented on the government, but it is within my right as a founding member of the All Progressives Congress to ask why the party isn’t functioning,” he said.

Source: Daily Trust