Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, has criticised the appointments made by President Bola Tinubu since assuming office.
Speaking on Monday during an interview on Arise TV, El-Rufai said Tinubu is only appointing his “boys” from Lagos into political offices.
He cautioned against blaming the entire South-West for the sin of the president when, in fact, the lopsided appointment is being committed by the president.
He said: “President Tinubu’s appointment are quite imbalance. Don’t blame the South-West for what one individual is doing.
“The president’s appointments are not being made because the appointees are Yoruba, but because they are his own boys, and most of the appointments do not even reasonably cover the South-West.
“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.
“Let’s focus on individuals and hold them accountable.
“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.”
Nasir El-Rufai, also said he was not rejected by the National Assembly as a ministerial nominee.
In August 2023, the Senate withheld the confirmation of El-Rufai as a ministerial nominee, citing security reports from the State Security Service for the action.
But speaking on Monday during an interview on Arise TV, El-Rufai said President Bola Tinubu simply “changed his mind on the nomination”
“After serving for eight years as governor of Kaduna state, I had my plans. The President publicly appealed to me put my plans on hold and through two months of negotiations, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as minister and there were certain conditions I attached to that. I think along the line, either the president changed his mind or something else.
“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 National Assembly had nothing to do with this, the President didn’t want me in his cabinet, he changed his mind. Whatever it is, I don’t care and I’ve moved on.
“Since I’ve moved on, I’ve not said a word, I’ve not granted an interview, I’ve not commented on the government but it is within my right as a founding member of the All Progressives Congress to ask why the party isn’t functioning,” he said.