El-Rufai attacking Tinubu, Ribadu out of bitterness — Omokri

Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has accused Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai of being embittered about his failed ministerial ambition and attacking Tinubu in bitterness.

El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State who was a supporter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2023 election, has, in recent times, publicly criticised Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

El-Rufai, who was a ministerial nominee, did not make the cut to be a part of Tinubu’s cabinet.

In an interview with Arise TV on Monday night, the former Kaduna governor told Nigerians to disregard reports claiming the National Assembly rejected his nomination.

According to him, Tinubu, who initially said he would nominate him as a minister, changed his mind.

“After serving for eight years as Governor of Kaduna State, I had my plans. The President publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold, and after some time, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as a minister, and there were certain conditions I attached to that. I think along the line, either the President changed his mind or something else.

“Please, don’t believe the story that the National Assembly rejected me. The President didn’t want me in his cabinet; he changed his mind. Whatever it is, frankly, I don’t care,” he said.

However, in a swift response, Omokri, an ally to businessman and Nigeria’s former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, in a statement on Monday night, clarified that El-Rufai was rejected by the Senate because he failed security clearance.

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In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Omokri noted that the former Kaduna governor failed the mandatory security clearance required for ministerial appointments because he was regarded as a “diplomatic liability” to Nigeria, among other reasons.

“During the Senate confirmation process, the National Assembly requested security clearance from both national and international security and intelligence agencies, and it was discovered that Nasir El-Rufai failed his security screening woefully.

“He was considered a diplomatic liability to Nigeria because, on Thursday, February 7, 2019, Malam Nasir El-Rufai threatened European Union observers with death if they intervened in Nigeria’s impending presidential elections, which were to take place on Saturday, February 16, 2019,” Omokri wrote.

Omokri cited El-Rufai’s utterance on February 7, 2019, when he said any European Union observer who intervened in the presidential election would “go back in body bags.”

Another incident that cost El-Rufai his security screening as a ministerial nominee, according to Omokri, was his demolition of the home of one of his critics, Aisha Yakubu, under the guise that the house hosted a sex party.

El-Rufai’s utterances against Christians and their religious beliefs were also cited as another factor that contributed to his failed security screening.

Omokri stressed, “For these and other reasons, Malam Nasir El-Rufai failed his security clearance and could not be cleared by the Senate of the National Assembly. He has himself to blame for this, not the President or the NSA.”

He added that other nominees, including Danladi Sani, the Taraba State nominee, and Stella Okotete of Delta State, were also rejected because security agencies refused to clear them, but none of them blamed Tinubu or Nuhu Ribadu for it.

He said, “Nasir El-Rufai is bitter that his desire to be a minister was scuttled, and in his bitterness, he is attacking those who are bringing betterment to Nigeria.”