Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has revealed the reason he agreed to be a minister in the Bola Tunubu administration.
He said Tinubu begged him to help him fix Nigeria’s electricity woes.
El-Rufai did not make the cabinet due to a petition citing security issues, though he has said it was Tinubu who eventually did not want him.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, El-Rufai, who has defected to the Social Democratic Party, said:
“Yes, that’s what they say, but did I contest for minister? I know some that paid money before they put their names as ministers,” El-Rufai said.
The former governor of Kaduna stated that Tinubu begged him to come and serve as minister to resolve the country’s perennial electricity challenge.
He said: “Mr President begged me, and even the whole world knows he begged me in Kaduna, and he asked me to come and work with him.
“I didn’t accept it until we met and talked with him. He told me that he wants me to tackle the issue of electricity.
“He said all past presidents have failed, and he wants to be the president that would make that electricity issue come to an end. Because of this challenge, I thought he was real.”
Asked if he regretted supporting Tinubu in 2023, he said he did not, adding that he is disappointed nonetheless.
On Monday, March 10, the former minister resigned his membership of the APC and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
