El-Rufai, one of the ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu, had withdrawn his interest and recommended Jafaru Sani, a staunch loyalist who served as commissioner in his administration as Kaduna governor, as his replacement.
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has described reports that he opposed the ministerial nomination of his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai, or his recommended replacement.
El-Rufai, one of the ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu, had withdrawn his interest and recommended Jafaru Sani, a staunch loyalist who served as commissioner in his administration as Kaduna governor, as his replacement.
It was gathered that Mr El-Rufai informed the president that he had notified Governor Sani about the option and that both parties had agreed before the former governor left for Egypt.
Peoples Gazette reported that Governor Sani rushed back from a trip to London on Thursday evening to inform Mr Tinubu at the State House that he and El-Rufai did not reach an agreement that Jafaru Sani should be the substitute minister.
Peoples Gazette quoted a source as saying: “He (Governor Sani) has now told the president to expect another name. He complained that Jafaru Sani has no political relevance in Kaduna and has been too loyal to El-Rufai.”
Reacting to this, Governor Sani told Channels Television that that he only met with President Tinubu to discuss recent issues concerning his predecessor’s ministerial nomination, and that at no time did he oppose or reject the man that was recommended by El-Rufai.
He said the bogus narrative was intended to cause friction between him and El-Rufai, stressing that the image of his predecessor is more important to him than any other reason.
“What is true in the story is that I met with the president. Every other thing is false and a conjecture to create friction between me and Mallam (El-Rufai),” Governor Sani told Channel TV.
He continued: “I went to see the president specifically because I was worried by the turn of events. I believe both of them mean well for the country.
“At no time did we discuss the issue of replacement? That is the least of my worries.
“If indeed Mallam wants to nominate a replacement, I will never oppose his choice. We are on the same page. Those who know us very well know that this is all lies. We know where the disinformation is coming from but we are not bothered.”