Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, has opined that Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, is upset at being excluded from Tinubu’s ministerial appointment.
El-Rufai has recently turned into a vocal opponent of President Bola Tinubu, saying that his administration is filled with southerners and loyalists.
Tinubu first proposed El-Rufai as a minister during the president’s cabinet formation process, but the Senate ultimately rejected his nomination.
Recently, El-Rufai has been critical of the Tinubu administration and the All Progressives Congress due to the ramifications from the ministerial appointment.
In a recent interview, El-Rufai claimed that it was not the Senate that rejected him as a minister but President Tinubu himself.
Onanuga while responding to some of Elrufai’s claim said that even though the former Kaduna state governor worked hard for Tinubu’s emergence as president, it is time for him to move on from the disappointment of not being made a minister.
“I will pity former Kaduna State governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai; he feels hurt that he was not made a minister, but I think it’s time for him to move on,” Onanuga said.
“You cannot continue to behave like a child, as if someone stole his bread and things like that, and then you are crying over spilt milk.”
While acknowledging that it is not out of place for El-Rufai to feel aggrieved having worked hard for the election of Tinubu, Onanuga said that the President is not in denial of his efforts.
“It is natural for him to feel bad that he has been excluded. I think the president has acknowledged in a recent tribute to him that Nasir did a lot in installing President Tinubu, and if he is not there, it doesn’t mean he will bring down the roof.”
Tinubu has nothing against El-Rufai, according to the presidential adviser, but the former governor of Kaduna is actively campaigning against the president because he feels offended.
Having served in the public sector since 1999, Onanuga asked El-Rufai to step down, stating that “it’s time for him to move on.”
