Presidency Responds to El-Rufai “Move On, You Must Not Be a Minister”

The Presidency has stated that the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, is upset about not being appointed as a minister in President Bola Tinubu’s administration despite his significant contributions to Tinubu’s rise to the presidency.

Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, shared this during an interview with Channels TV on Tuesday. He advised El-Rufai to move on from his disappointment regarding the ministerial appointment, noting that El-Rufai has been a public official since 1999.

“As an individual, I feel pity for former Governor Nasir El-Rufai. He is clearly hurt by not being appointed as a minister. I think it’s time for him to move on. One cannot behave like a child who has been denied milk. It is natural for him to feel hurt; we came into power in May 2023. Understandably, he feels excluded, especially since the President recently acknowledged his contributions in a birthday tribute. However, if he is not part of the administration, it doesn’t mean he should react so negatively,” Onanuga explained.

He added, “Nothing pains Nasir more than being left out of the moving train. That is likely why he has been campaigning against the President. My advice to him, as a former governor, is to let go of the fact that he was not appointed as a minister. He has been in public service for quite a long time.”

When reminded that El-Rufai had expressed dissatisfaction with the appointments and the nation’s declining economy under President Tinubu, Onanuga emphasized that the opinion of one individual does not represent the views of all Nigerians or reflect the economic data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

He stated “El-Rufai’s opinion of dissatisfaction with how the country is being governed does not align with reality. This government inherited several problems from the previous administration and has taken measures to improve and stabilize the economy, as evidenced by the statistics we have. Things are getting better; we are not where we were in 2023. The government has made significant strides to enhance the economy. We have seen indicators such as declining inflation and increasing foreign exchange reserves.”