Ex-Kaduna Governor El-Rufai will reject ministerial appointments even if approved by Senate

Even if the Senate eventually approves him for the ministerial position, the former governor of Kaduna Nasir El-Rufai is planning to reject it.

El-Rufai was reportedly one of three lawmakers whose confirmations the Senate withheld on Monday.

The Senate did not exactly state why El-Rufai was delayed, other than to mention that he had not yet gotten security clearance. The other two nominees, Abubakar Danladi of Taraba and Stella Okotete of Delta, were turned down for reasons that were purportedly documented.

There are rumors that El-Rufai’s delay is the result of how he handled ethnic and sectarian conflicts when serving as governor. Additionally, there are accusations that he allegedly betrayed his allies and committed acts of corruption.

According to People’s Gazette, El-Rufai has stated that he will not meet with National Security Advisor Nuhu Ribadu to request a security clearance. He thinks Ribadu lacks the political clout to refuse a government position outright.

El-Rufai has additionally stated that he will hold off on declaring his rejection of the nomination until he has been formally confirmed by the Senate. He wants to demonstrate to Nigerians that there was no legitimate reason for the hold-up.

According to a source, “His Excellency Nasir El-Rufai is a man of conviction and he has made it clear that he would not be seeing Nuhu Ribadu to argue for security clearance.” He actually had a meeting with the NSA scheduled for Wednesday in Abuja, but he vehemently declined to attend.

This publication has gathered that before being asked to advance to the Senate, El-Rufai and the other nominations had received the State Security Service’s approval. The screening procedure involved questioning each of them for more than a week. The National Security Advisor, Nuhu Ribadu, reportedly objected to the confirmation of El-Rufai and two other individuals.

The source echoed El-Rufai’s assertion, saying that Nuhu Ribadu “won’t be able to do it without the president’s prior knowledge.” Therefore, he would hold off on leaving the cabinet until he was finally confirmed.