Former House Minority Leader recounts conversation with ex-Kaduna governor after his exclusion from Tinubu’s ministerial nominees

Former House Minority Leader and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Farouk Aliyu, has revealed how he advised former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to move on after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not nominate him as a minister.

Aliyu disclosed this while recounting his encounter with the former Kaduna governor following El-Rufai’s exclusion from the list of ministerial nominees submitted by President Tinubu.

According to Aliyu, he visited El-Rufai after the development and advised him to forget about the ministerial appointment and move forward.

“I told him, if I were you, I’d just forget it,” Aliyu said, recalling his conversation with El-Rufai.

However, Aliyu said the former governor rejected his advice, indicating that he was not prepared to simply let the matter go.

“He said no,” Aliyu reportedly recalled.

El-Rufai, who served as Kaduna State governor from 2015 to 2023, was among the prominent figures whose names were widely expected to feature in President Tinubu’s ministerial team following the 2023 presidential election.

His eventual exclusion generated considerable public discussion within political circles, particularly given his prominent role in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari and his political relationship with the ruling APC.

Aliyu’s account provides a fresh insight into the period following the announcement of President Tinubu’s ministerial nominees and El-Rufai’s reaction to his exclusion.

Further details of Aliyu’s account are expected to generate reactions within political circles.