Politics
How Tinubu, El-Rufai Ministerial Deal Crumbled
Published
2 years agoon
By
Editor
More facts have emerged on how the pact between President Bola Tinubu and a former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, for the latter to become a minister in the yet-to-be-formed Federal Executive Council crumbled.
The PUNCH investigation revealed that El-Rufai had been promised to man the proposed Ministry of Power and Gas based on his numerous discussions with the President on how the country would have uninterrupted power supply in a few years.
Findings by The PUNCH showed that the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory had told Tinubu during the presidential campaign that he would prefer to travel out of the country to live a quiet life, but he changed his mind after what a source described as “intensive discussions with the President after winning the election.”
It was gathered that El-Rufai told the President that the ministry of power should be made to include gas after telling the President that gas was a must-have product if the country was to have regular power supply.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the secret meetings, added that El-Rufai had started assembling egg-heads who had been briefing the President on how to achieve his major electioneering promise of providing uninterrupted power supply.
READ ALSO: JUST IN: El-Rufai Withdraws Interest In Ministerial Appointment, Recommends Replacement
Members of the group of egg-heads, findings revealed, included Jimi Lawal; the Special Adviser to the President on Energy Matters, Olu Verheijen; Eyo Ekpo and Tolu Oyekan, among others.
The El-Rufai group believed that a combination of factors might have made the President to dilly-dally on his confirmation.
A source close to the group, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “Certain elements in the Villa might have felt threatened by El-Rufai. They don’t want him because they are already planning for the next election as the case may be and they see him as a potential threat to their aspirations.
“Some political foes like Senator Shehu Sani and some elements in the Christian Association of Nigeria and even some Muslim clerics are all part of the gang-up.
“Recall that during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, El-Rufai had issues with federal lawmakers when he alleged that some of them were demanding bribes from him. Obasanjo intervened and the matter was resolved and the Senate cleared him. So, if President Tinubu wanted El-Rufai, he would have insisted that the former governor be cleared.”
READ ALSO: Man Sells Day-old Granddaughter For N700,000
A source had earlier told our correspondent, “El-Rufai had met with the President on many occasions concerning how to build the new ministry. The President was told by El-Rufai that the Ministry of Power should also have gas added to it and President Tinubu agreed to that.
“He also asked that the National Energy Council be established to discuss and take positions on issues affecting power. The proposed energy council is to comprise ministers in charge of finance, environment, energy, justice and the office of the National Security Adviser.
“I think the President bought the ideas and had been listening to the former minister, who had also been visiting Aso Rock to brief the commander-in-chief on his findings and how to make progress.
“The President was assured that uninterrupted or partial interruption of power is possible in the next five to seven years.”
However, it was gathered that the bond between the President and El-Rufai based on the position taken by the former governor of Kaduna State during the crisis preceding the conduct of the All Progressives Congress presidential primary was what initially made Tinubu overlook the security report against the former minister.
Apart from this, it was also learnt that some influential members of the Tinubu kitchen cabinet were of the opinion that El-Rufai should not be allowed to wield enormous power in the government, alleging that it would be difficult to completely trust him.
“So, his enemies won when the second security report on him was sent to the offices of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), President of the Senate and the National Security Adviser detailing the numerous reasons why El-Rufai should not be cleared for a ministerial position,” the source added.
READ ALSO: Ministerial Nominees: Senate Spokesman Gives Update On El-Rufai, Two Others Confirmation
In a covering letter signed by one Aminu Yusuf on behalf of the Director-General, Department of State Services, dated August 4, 2023, with reference number SV.8/1430 titled, ‘Re: Security Vetting’ and addressed to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), which was exclusively obtained by Saturday PUNCH, the secret police wrote, “Further to this Service letter S.V.8/1426 dated 1st of August, 2023, giving provisional security clearance to three (3) ministerial nominees, including Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, pending conclusion of vetting. (Appendix ‘A’ instructive).
“This Service wishes to state that further vetting and background checks conducted revealed some underlined issues which have negatively affected the nominee and as such, it is recommended that El-Rufai’s clearance by the Senate of the National Assembly be stepped down until the issues are cleared as investigation continues.
“Summary of the issues under investigation are (sic) attached as Appendix ‘B’ for ease of reference.
“Accept the assurances and esteemed regards of the DGSS please.”
However, The PUNCH could not obtain the appendixes ‘A’ and ‘B’ attached to the letter detailing the issues for which El-Rufai’s clearance was put on hold.
Unconfirmed reports had emerged on Friday that the former Kaduna State governor had informed the President that he was no longer interested in being a minister following the request by the DSS that his clearance by the Senate should be put on hold pending further investigation.
El-Rufai was said to have informed Tinubu of his withdrawal on Tuesday when he and a former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, visited the President at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He was said to have informed Tinubu that he needed time to focus on his doctorate programme at a university in The Netherlands and reportedly suggested that Jafaru Ibrahim Sani, who served as a commissioner under El-Rufai in Kaduna State, be appointed as a minister in his place.
The PUNCH gathered that El-Rufai travelled out of the country after the meeting with the President, but his destination could not be confirmed.
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Politics
Presidency Responds To Kwankwaso’s Accusation Against Tinubu’s Govt
Published
4 hours agoon
July 26, 2025By
Editor
The Presidency has responded to claims by former Kano State governor and 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, dismissing his assertion that the North has been sidelined under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
Kwankwaso had raised the alarm during a stakeholders’ dialogue on the 2025 constitutional amendment held in Kano on Thursday, accusing the federal government of skewing national resources in favour of the South, thereby worsening poverty and insecurity in the North.
He decried the poor state of federal roads in the region, recounting a recent ordeal where he was forced to travel from Abuja to Kano via Kaduna due to a cancelled flight. The trip, he said, was “hell” owing to the dilapidated road conditions.
READ ALSO:PHOTOS: President Tinubu Hosts Class Of 1999 Governors In Aso Villa
In a swift response on Friday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, refuted the allegations in a post on his X handle, insisting that the Tinubu administration has not neglected the region.
“SENATOR KWANKWOSO. YOU ARE WRONG. NORTH NOT NEGLECTED. PRESIDENT TINUBU HAS THE NORTH COVERED. NORTHERN NIGERIA NOT LEFT BEHIND.”
He cited a range of ongoing projects to support his position, including the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway, the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, and the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline. According to him, the government is actively pursuing development across key sectors in the region.
Dare also mentioned the $158.15 million Agriculture Value Chain programme being implemented in nine Northern states, as well as the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi and Gombe. He added that the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) initiative is working to restore one million hectares of degraded land.
READ ALSO:Constitution Amendment: South-East Demands Rotational Presidency, Legislative Seats For Women
The presidential aide highlighted ongoing health interventions, including the expansion of facilities at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria; University of Jos Teaching Hospital; and Federal Medical Centre, Nguru. He said about 1,000 primary healthcare centres across the North are being revitalised.
On infrastructure, Dare named several road projects such as the Kano–Kongolam Road, Kaduna–Jos Road, the Kano–Maiduguri Dual Carriageway, and key rehabilitation works in Borno and Adamawa states.
In the energy sector, he pointed to the 614-kilometre Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Gas Pipeline, the Gwagwalada Power Plant, and planned solar projects in Kaduna. He further cited major railway projects, including the Kaduna–Kano and Kano–Maradi rail lines, as well as the Abuja Metro rehabilitation.
Politics
Oyegun Regrets APC Merger, Vows To Set New Polical Order
Published
4 hours agoon
July 26, 2025By
Editor
Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Oyegun, has vowed to set a new political order in Nigeria, stressing that the coalition that birthed the APC against the 2015 general elections was a mistake.
Oyegun spoke when he hosted stakeholders of the coalition opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), in his Benin home.
According to him, the mistakes of the past notwithstanding, the imperative thing was to those who fell before to rise and ensure they did not fall again.
The first executive governor of Edo State added that he aligned with the apology tendered by the former governor of the state, Professor Osarhiemen Osunbor on the mistake of the 2013 APC coalition.
READ ALSO:Coalition: Why Tinubu Must Not Sleep —Primate Ayodele
Oyegun said that while he joined others to chase away “a government we called clueless”, the government that took over became indescribable.
“The story of success in life does not matter how much you fall. You heard the apology made by Professor Osunbor. We accept our failings. We removed a clueless government, and I don’t have a word for what we replaced it with. We are back to the struggle. We know what we are doing, and it will not fail,” Oyegun said
On the stakeholders’ meeting, he explained that the meeting was called to set up a committee for membership registration ans revalidation in the state.
The Committee, Chief Oyegun stated, was to work with the party’s state coalition in the state to ensure a rancour free process.
READ ALSO:Coalition Illogical, Driven By Personal Ambition – Bode George
He added that the membership registration and revalidation was to ensure the message of the coalition gets to every corner of this state in cooperation with the incumbent executive.
Oyegun also disclosed that the ADC had received other groups from the Social Democratic Party.
“I think the message has gotten home very largely. The entire state will convulse at the mentioning of the ADC. One of the Committee will work with the State Working Committee in a way that is effective and convenient to the ordinary citizen of Edo State.” Oyegun stated.
Also speaking with journalists after the meeting, Professor Osunbor said Nigerians were not happy with the way the country was being governed.
Osunbor noted that the coalition was formed by all concerned Nigerians across political parties “to ensure that multi-party democracy exist in the country.”, as the present situation tilted towards totalitarianism.
Politics
PHOTOS: Kwankwaso Welcomes APC Defectors Into NNPP
Published
15 hours agoon
July 25, 2025By
Editor
Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the 2023 elections, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has welcomed thousands of defectors from the All Progressives Congress (APC) into his party in Kano State.
Kwankwaso, leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, disclosed this on Friday via his official X handle, noting that the event was held at his residence in Kano.
He further stated that the NNPP’s growing political influence and distinguished leadership style in Kano continue to attract new members, encouraging others to join without hesitation.
READ ALSO:NNPP Faction Suspends Kano Governor For Six Months
“Yesterday was a momentous occasion, as I received thousands of defectors from the All Progressives Congress (APC) into the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP),” he stated.
“Speaking during the event at my residence in Kano, I welcomed the new members into our party and I promised them equitable treatment and cooperation.
“The distinguished leadership style in Kano and our political leadership keep attracting more people into our fold, and I encourage those considering joining to do so without any hesitation.”
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