JUST IN: El-Rufai withdraws interest in ministerial appointment, recommends replacement

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A former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has withdrawn his interest in being part of President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet.

Presidency sources said Mr El-Rufai told President Tinubu at a meeting on Tuesday that he was no longer interested in becoming a minister but would continue to contribute his quota to the development of Nigeria as a private citizen.

“He also told the president that he needed time to focus on his doctorate programme at a university in The Netherlands,” one of our sources said.

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Another insider also told PREMIUM TIMES that the former governor suggested a new ministerial nominee — Jafaru Ibrahim Sani — for Kaduna State, saying the President would find him very useful and resourceful.

Mr Sani served as commissioner in three ministries in Kaduna State (Local Government Education and Environment) while Mr El-Rufai was governor.

Mr El-Rufai visited the President at the presidential villa a day after the Senate confirmed 45 ministerial nominees after a week-long screening of 48 of them.

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The upper legislative chamber, however, withheld his confirmation and those of two others, citing security reports from the State Security Service for the action.

The two others were a former senator from Taraba, Sani Danladi, and a nominee from Delta State, Stella Okotete.

At the meeting on Tuesday afternoon, President Tinubu, according to our sources, told the former governor he received some petitions critical of his ministerial nomination.

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The president then asked for 24 hours grace to review the petitions and the SSS report to the Senate to enable him to reach a decision.

It was at that point that Mr El-Rufai responded that he was no longer interested in being minister since it appeared some forces around the president were scheming intensely to block his emergence as federal minister.

SOURCE: PREMIUM TIMES