Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has clarified that former Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai remains a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC contrary to rumours of his leaving for PDP.
Sule made the clarification during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, January 8.
According to him, despite the National Assembly rejecting his nomination as a minister in August 2023, El-Rufai is still a member of APC.
“El-Rufai has not left our party; he is still part of our party,” Sule said
“What led to his nomination, what led to his rejection by the Senate or by the security agencies, to be honest with you, are not issues we discussed either at the Progressives Governors’ Forum or even the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
“They are not issues because what doesn’t concern us, we can do nothing about it. It is the prerogative of Mr President to nominate whoever should be his minister and he nominated.
“Also, there are agencies including the National Assembly that either confirm or reject and they rejected (him).”
The former Kaduna governor, who held office from May 2015 to May 2023, was vocal in his support for former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu as the APC presidential candidate.
Alongside other northern governors, El-Rufai backed Tinubu over two other prominent northern aspirants — former Senate President Ahmad Lawan and ex-Jigawa Governor Mohammed Badaru.
In line with Nigeria’s tradition of rewarding key political allies with government positions, Tinubu nominated El-Rufai as a minister three months after assuming office.
However, his nomination was rejected by the Senate, citing security concerns raised by the Department of State Services (DSS) as the reason for his disqualification.
Since his rejection, El-Rufai has remained absent from APC gatherings and has not been seen at the Presidential Villa or in proximity to President Tinubu, whom he had campaigned for during the elections. Instead, he has been spotted with leaders of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), sparking rumours of a potential defection, which he has repeatedly denied.
