Abdullahi Sule, the governor of Nasarawa State, has stated unequivocally that the Progressives
Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, had no involvement in the Governors’ Forum’s cabinet nomination process.
According to reports, El-Rufai was outspoken in selecting Bola Tinubu to lead the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the most recent general elections.
El-Rufai and other northern governors backed Tinubu in his bid against two other contestants who were also northern juggernauts.
In the February 2023 presidential election, the former governor of Lagos State was elected president of Nigeria on the ticket of the APC.
Three months after his inauguration, Tinubu named El-Rufai as one of his ministers as a reward for his diligence.
But during the ministerial vetting process, the Senate turned El-Rufai down.
El-Rufai has not defected from the ruling party, according to Sule, a member of the Progressive Governors Forum.
On Wednesday’s episode of Channels Television’s Politics Today, Sule stated, “El-Rufai has not left our party; he is still part of our party.”
“What led to his (El-Rufai’s) nomination, what led to his rejection by the Senate or by the security agencies, to be honest with you, are not issues we discussed either at the Progressives Governors Forum or even the Nigeria Governors Forum. They are not issues because what doesn’t concern us, we can do nothing about it.
“It is the prerogative of Mr President to nominate whoever should be his minister and he nominated. Also, there are agencies, including the National Assembly, that either confirm or reject, and they rejected (him),” said the Nasarawa governor.
