Kaduna State’s former Governor Nasir El-Rufai has claimed that Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, is behind a plot to tarnish his reputation.
El-Rufai also claimed his ministerial nomination by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023 was not rejected by the Senate, but by the Commander-in-Chief himself.
The former FCT Minister and foundation leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) spoke on Arise TV on Monday night, February 24, stating: “Ribadu is not my friend. We used to be friends.”
He also alleged that Ribadu is attempting to eliminate any potential competition from the North ahead of his Presidential ambition.
El-Rufai said: “Ribadu is behind the project to destroy El-Rufai and my reputation.
“But so far, it has been frustrating for them. They have not found anything to use against me.
“So they are now going to lower-level officers who worked with me, trying to convince them to implicate me in exchange for having their problems resolved.
“The ICPC is now a charade. The EFCC is more professional.
“I swear to you and to God, I have not taken a penny that I was not supposed to. In fact, as Governor, my deputy and I donated 50% of our entitlements, and I have records to prove it.
“Ribadu wants to be President of Nigeria, and his plan is to eliminate every Northerner who appears to be competition.
“Somebody wants to destroy my reputation because Nuhu Ribadu wants to become President in 2031. He has to eliminate every northerner he thinks is on his radar.”
“The National Assembly had nothing to do with it, the President didn’t want me in his cabinet,” El-Rufai said
El-Rufai also criticised the party’s leadership, stating that its organs have been inactive since Tinubu assumed office.
“I’m a founding member of the APC, but I have a concern about how the party is being run… how many people sacrificed a lot to ensure that it was an internally democratic party with progressive ideals, two years after the election of President of Tinubu, none of the party organs is functioning. The progressive ideals are not being pursued with any vigour,” he said.
The former Governor revealed that after extensive negotiations, Tinubu personally requested his support and assured him of a ministerial nomination, which came with certain conditions.
However, the President later withdrew the offer.
“Since I left office and the President begged me publicly to support him, I said I would and I don’t want anything. I am a self-made man. I don’t need anything. Through two months of negotiations, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as minister and there were certain conditions I attached to that, along the line, either the President changed his mind. 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 added.
On the alleged security concerns cited for his rejection, El-Rufai challenged the claim, insisting there was no report against him.
“What was the security issue the National Assembly had against me? Where is the report? There were far less qualified, less experienced that scaled through because the President made a call. He is a human being he’s entitled to change his mind.” he said.
