Five talking points from Nasir El-Rufai’s interview on Arise TV

Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, appeared on national television for the first time since he left office in May 2023.

In his appearance on Arise TV on Monday evening, El-Rufai spoke on the state of the nation, his controversial rejection as ministerial nominee, the All Progressives Congress (APC) among other national issues.

Here are five talking points from the interview:

Senate didn’t reject my ministerial nomination, Tinubu did – El-Rufai

El-Rufai dismissed claims that the National Assembly rejected his ministerial nomination in 2023, stating instead that President Bola Tinubu changed his mind about appointing him.

El-Rufai’s nomination was among those withheld by the Senate in August 2023, reportedly due to security concerns. However, speaking in an interview on Arise TV on Monday, the former governor said his exclusion from the cabinet was solely the president’s decision.

Read also: El-Rufai calls for North-South-South alliance to ‘rescue’ Nigeria

“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,” El-Rufai said.

“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 added.

Ribadu working with Sani to tarnish my image ahead of 2031 – El-Rufai

The former Kaduna governor alleged that Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA), is leading a campaign to damage his reputation ahead of the 2031 presidential election.

El-Rufai claimed that Ribadu is working with Uba Sani, the current Kaduna State governor, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to discredit him.

“This project of destroying Nasir El-Rufai is Nuhu Ribadu’s conception. He is the architect and builder of that project. He is the one working with Uba Sani to implement it. So far, it has been frustrating for them,” El-Rufai said.

The former governor further suggested that Ribadu’s alleged actions are driven by his own political ambitions.

“Somebody wants to destroy my reputation. Why? Nuhu Ribadu wants to be president in 2031. He has to eliminate every northerner that he thinks is on the radar,” he added.

El-Rufai accuses Tinubu of favouritism, says he’s appointing “his own boys”

The embattled former Kaduna governor also criticised Tinubu’s pattern of political appointments, accusing him of favouring his close associates from Lagos.

El-Rufai argued that Tinubu’s choices were not based on ethnic considerations but personal loyalty.

“The president’s appointments are not being made because the appointees are Yoruba, but because they are his own boys. Most of the appointments do not even reasonably cover the South-West,” he said.

He dismissed claims that Tinubu’s appointments reflect regional or ethnic favoritism, instead urging Nigerians to focus on holding individuals accountable rather than generalising blame.

“So people should stop confusing the truth. The appointments are not balanced. Yes, definitely, definitely, right? You cannot argue that, but it’s not a Yoruba thing. Please don’t punish the Yorubas as you have been punishing northerners for the sins of the military,” he added.

He also urged Tinubu to address the growing discontent, particularly in northern Nigeria. “President Tinubu needs to do something about that. It’s still not too late. He can correct it, but there is palpable anger in the north,” he said.

If APC fails to return to progressive values, I will seek another platform – El-Rufai

The APC chieftain expressed dissatisfaction in the ruling party, signalling that he may seek an alternative platform if the party fails to return to its founding progressive values.

El-Rufai reaffirmed his commitment to the ruling party, saying that he remains a member of the APC.

“I am not ready to retire from politics, so sooner or later, I may have to find another platform to pursue those progressive values that I believe in if I can’t find them in the APC,” he warned.

“I am not leaving the APC; the APC has left me,” he said. “We founded that party based on certain values, but the party has drifted away from them.”

The former governor lamented that the party has abandoned its original mission, including fighting corruption, rebuilding the economy, and enhancing security.

He also said that internal democracy in the party is deteriorating, pointing out that major organs of the party have not met in two years.

“In two years, the party has not met, so no one, to the best of my knowledge, has any insight into what has gone wrong,” El-Rufai said.

He, however, ruled out joining the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying that the main opposition party has gone worse.

“One thing I can tell you for sure is that PDP is not a party that I will go to, ever. In fact, if anything, PDP has gotten worse, so you can rule that out. Other parties? Possibly.”

Regarding speculation about his potential presidential ambition, El-Rufai dismissed claims that his recent meetings were political consultations.

El-Rufai criticises sequencing of Tinubu’s economic reforms

El-Rufai also criticised the sequencing of Tinubu’s reforms, adding that some are right while some are just wrong.

“I support some of (Tinubu) policies. Most of the economic policies are the right orthodox policies, but the sequencing is wrong and the quality of the people implementing the reforms leaves much to be desired. And I think that some of the reforms are just wrong,” he said.

Read also: El-Rufai accuses Tinubu of favouritism, says he’s appointing “his own boys”

“You don’t address food inflation by destroying domestic agriculture. Food prices may be going down, but farmers are being impoverished because they are being made to compete with subsidised agricultural products from Europe and other countries. So I have issues with many of them, and I’m in touch with many senior officials of the administration, and I give them my opinion privately.”

The current administration has implemented a series of reforms from inception, including fuel subsidy removal, forex unification, among others.