El-Rufai: I told Tinubu I was not interested in any position in his govt

The immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has disclosed that he informed President Bola Tinubu he was not interested in serving in his administration.

El-Rufai disclosed this in a post on his X account on Thursday, January 30, 2025.

The former governor was reacting to a post by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala.

Bwala had tackled El-Rufai over his public criticism of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Bwala wrote on X: “My Senior brother, if you were to be in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position? History is replete with examples.

“It is a government you participated in its formation, that you now want to unseat. Haba Mallam, a Ji soron Allah mana.”

While addressing a national conference in Abuja on strengthening democracy in Nigeria on Monday, January 27, El-Rufai described the state of governance and opposition in the country as a “national emergency”.

The former governor said he no longer recognise the APC, citing alleged neglect by the party.

Reacting to Bwala’s post on Thursday, El-Rufai stated: “Good morning, @BwalaDaniel. I was cabinet minster 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.

El-Rufai: APC left me behind, I no longer recognise party

“If I had remained in the Tinubu government, I will say or do the same on the tragedy within a party I was a founder, and the government that emerged from it – first in private sessions with those concerned, and then go public if no remedial actions are taken. Go and check my public service record from 1998.

“I am only responding to you because I still think you are a decent person who may need a job, and not in the class of Wendell Simlin and that Kaduna pretender that our voters retired in 2019 – these clowns are political mercenaries that receive humongous monthly stipends from the security vote to be the first to jump on X and other platforms to defend everything the Asiwaju government does or fails to do, no matter how indefensible it may be.

“Enjoy your special adviser position, my brother, but remember that allegiance to God and country comes first in human scale of accountability, before any person or authority.”

The Star recalls that El-Rufai, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), could not be confirmed as a minister following his nomination by President Bola Tinubu in 2023.

The Senate withheld his confirmation over petitions filed against him.

The former governor has since then been in the news for plans to dump the APC for another party.

The Star