365NEWS gathered that President Bola Tinubu through his adviser has reacted to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over his recent accusation concerning his exclusion from the ministerial list.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Monday, El-Rufai denied claims that his nomination was rejected by the National Assembly, insisting that Tinubu simply “changed his mind.”
He dismissed speculations that a security report from the Department of State Services (DSS) influenced his exclusion.
According to El-Rufai, he had set certain conditions for accepting the ministerial position, which may have played a role in the President’s decision.
“Please don’t believe the story that the National Assembly rejected me; they had nothing to do with it. The President didn’t want me in his cabinet,” he stated.
In response, Tinubu, through his Special Adviser on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, downplayed El-Rufai’s claims and urged him to “move on.”
Speaking on Channels TV on Tuesday, Onanuga suggested that the former governor was bitter over his exclusion from Tinubu’s administration.
“As a person, I think I will pity the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai. He feels hurt that he was not made a minister. It has been a long time since the ministers were appointed, and I think it is time for him to move on,” Onanuga said.
Mocking El-Rufai’s reaction, he added, “You cannot continue behaving like a child whose bread was taken away. He is showing the resentment of a man left out of a moving train.”
Onanuga further argued that while El-Rufai contributed to Tinubu’s election victory, his grievances were personal and did not reflect the reality of the administration.
“The President, in his birthday tribute to El-Rufai, acknowledged his contribution to the party. He actually helped a lot in installing the President. But his exclusion is the reason he is going about campaigning against Tinubu,” Onanuga stated.
