Former Governor Nasiru el-Rufai of Kaduna State has travelled out of Nigeria after his interest to become minister in the President Bola Tinubu’s government hit a brick wall.
El-Rufai’s confirmation by the senate was stalled by a detailed adverse security report authored by the Department of State Services (DSS).
He reportedly flies out to Egypt Friday afternoon. It was said the former governor would proceed to Europe from Egypt.
The Premium Times on Friday quoted sources in the presidency revealing that the former governor had told Tinubu on Tuesday that he was no longer interested in becoming a minister.
He reportedly pledged that would continue to contribute his quota to the development of Nigeria as a private citizen.
“He also told the president that he needed time to focus on his doctorate programme at a university in The Netherlands,” sources told the newspaper.
Another insider also told the newspaper that El-Rufai had suggested a new ministerial nominee — Jafaru Ibrahim Sani — for Kaduna State, saying the President would find him very useful and resourceful.
It was not clear whether Mr Tinubu would pick the former governor’s nominee.
Mr Sani served as commissioner in three ministries in Kaduna State (Local Government Education and Environment) while Mr El-Rufai was governor.
Mr El-Rufai visited Tinubu in the presidential villa 24 hours after the Senate’s week-long screening of 48 of them.
The upper legislative chamber, however, withheld his confirmation and those of two others, citing security reports from the State Security Service for the action.
The two others were a former senator from Taraba, Sani Danladi, and a nominee from Delta State, Stella Okotete.
There was no immediate comments from El-Rufai’s spokesperson Muyiwa Adekeye on Friday.
