Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has dismissed claims that the National Assembly rejected his ministerial nomination, stating that President Bola Tinubu was the one who did not want him in the cabinet.
Speaking in an interview with Arise TV on Monday, el-Rufai said Tinubu initially appealed to him publicly to put his personal plans on hold and consider a ministerial role.
“The president publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold, and through two months of negotiation, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as minister,” el-Rufai said.
He explained that he had set certain conditions for accepting the nomination, but along the line, Tinubu either changed his mind or something else happened.
“Please don’t believe the story that the National Assembly rejected me. The president did not want me in his cabinet. He changed his mind,” he stated.