FORMER Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu deliberately excluded him from his cabinet, dismissing claims that his rejection during screening for a ministerial slot in 2023 was due to “security concerns” raised by the National Assembly.
The Senate had declined to confirm El-Rufai’s nomination, alongside Stella Okotete (Delta) and Abubakar Danladi (Taraba), citing unresolved security reports.
However, in an interview with Arise TV, on Monday, February 24, the former governor stated that the National Assembly had no role in his exclusion and that Tinubu personally decided against appointing him.
El-Rufai stated that Tinubu had publicly appealed to him to join his administration despite his initial reluctance.
He insisted that his decision to support Tinubu’s presidential bid was not motivated by personal gain.
“Since I left office and the president begged me publicly to come and serve in his cabinet, I have my plans and I told President Tinubu from day one when he asked me to support him. I said I would but I don’t want anything because politics in Nigeria is always about what do I get for giving you support.”
Despite his reservations, El-Rufai said he eventually agreed to Tinubu’s request after two months of negotiations, but only under certain conditions.
However, he alleged that Tinubu later changed his mind about including him in his government.
“President publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold. After 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 because please don’t believe the story that the National Assembly rejected me.
“National Assembly had nothing to do with this, President Tinubu didn’t want me in his cabinet. He changed his mind whatever it is, frankly, I don’t care and I told him and I moved on.”
El-Rufai’s latest remarks aligns with his previous public statements in which he downplayed his exclusion and insisted that he never sought a position in Tinubu’s administration.
El Rufai had on January 30, 2025, while responding to the president’s media aide, Daniel Bwala, on his X handle, stated that he was not interested in being a member of Tinubu’s cabinet.
“I was cabinet minister 22 years ago and was clear to Asiwaju that I was not interested in any position in his future government. The pathetic manner all of you latter-day converts to the Tinubu government make an issue of something that I never wanted in the first place is perhaps a reflection of the level of your moral flexibility,” he wrote on his X handle.
His remarks also came amid his recent criticism of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which he co-founded, and his call for opposition parties to unite against the current administration.
His fallout with the Tinubu government has sparked reactions, with some political analysts interpreting his statements as a signal of deeper cracks within the APC.
Background of El-Rufai’s ministerial nomination
El-Rufai was initially nominated alongside 47 others as part of President Tinubu’s first ministerial list.
However, during the Senate screening on August 7, 2023, Senator Sunday Karimi from Kogi West raised a petition against him, citing alleged security issues.
Following deliberations, the Senate declined to confirm El-Rufai, along with two other nominees – Stella Okotete from Delta State and Abubakar Danladi from Taraba State.
Tinubu later replaced El-Rufai with Balarabe Abbas, a former Secretary to the Kaduna State Government, who was assigned to the Ministry of Environment.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M