Governor Uba Sani Denies Opposing El-Rufai’s Ministerial Replacement After Meeting With Tinubu

Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has responded to the allegation that he opposed the nomination of Jafaru Sani as the replacement for former Governor Nasir El-Rufai in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet.

Recall that El-Rufai is among the 48 ministerial nominees sent to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu, but he is yet to be cleared by the Senate on the basis of pending security reports against him.

Following the delay of his security clearance, El-Rufai reportedly met with President Tinubu within the week and turned down the appointment and recommended that his former Commissioner, Jafaru Sani, should replace him.

However, a report emerged on Saturday afternoon that Governor Sani met with President Tinubu and rejected the nomination of Jafaru as a minister-designate from Kaduna.

While reacting to the allegation, Governor Uba in a chat with Channels Television on Saturday night, described the report that he rejected Jafaru’s nomination on the ground that he is a loyalist of el-Rufai as false and misleading.

Governor Sani stated that he only met with President Tinubu to discuss recent issues concerning his predecessor’s ministerial nomination, and at no time did he oppose or rejected the man that was recommended by El-Rufai.

The governor explained that the story was aimed at creating friction between him and El-Rufai, noting what is paramount to him is the image of his predecessor than any other consideration.

“The only thing that is true in the story is that I met with the president. Every other thing is false and a conjecture to create friction between me and Mallam (el-Rufai)” he said

Meanwhile, fresh facts emerged Friday on why El-Rufai, known for his track record of getting the job done, would be shut down by a mere petition.

Sources said the power play and gang-up against El-Rufai came from various angles, including the presidency.

The petition and alleged security concerns, Daily Trust Saturday gathered, were a mere ruse cooked up by some powerful persons to frustrate the former governor’s chances.

“Some very powerful Nigerians, it appears, are not comfortable with the kind of reforms El-Rufai was bringing to the power and energy sector,” a source who asked to remain anonymous said.

Another source said El-Rufai’s decision to withdraw his ministerial appointment was as a result of the president’s body language, which the former minister was disappointed with.

“If he (Tinubu) really means well and wants El-Rufai to deliver for him on constant power supply, he knows what to do to get him confirmed as it happened in the case of Festus Keyamo” the source said.

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