Bayo Onanuga, an aide to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has advised former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to put his failed ministerial nomination behind him and stop behaving immaturely.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Onanuga remarked that El-Rufai still appeared hurt months after being excluded from President Tinubu’s cabinet.
“As an individual, I feel sorry for the former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. He seems to be struggling with not being appointed a minister. The cabinet was formed in August 2023, and it has been quite some time. He needs to move on. He shouldn’t act like a child who had his bread taken away,” Onanuga stated.
El-Rufai was initially selected for a ministerial role but was later dropped after the Senate refused to confirm his nomination due to security concerns. During an interview with Arise TV on Monday, he alleged that it was President Tinubu, not the National Assembly, who ultimately decided against his appointment.
“The President personally requested that I put my plans on hold, and after two months of discussions, we reached an agreement that he would nominate me as a minister under certain conditions I set,” El-Rufai explained. “At some point, either the President had a change of heart or something else influenced the decision. Please don’t buy into the narrative that the National Assembly rejected me. They had no hand in it. The President did not want me in his cabinet. He changed his mind. Whatever the reason, it no longer matters to me—I have moved on.”
The former governor maintained that he had chosen to remain silent on the matter but believed he had every right to question the effectiveness of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He added, “Since I moved on, I haven’t made any comments, given interviews, or spoken about the government. However, as one of the founding members of the APC, I have the right to ask why the party is not functioning properly.”
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