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How High-wire Politics Scuttled El-Rufai’s Cabinet Confirmation.

Published

9 months ago

August 12, 2023

Stella Charles Akupue

There are strong indications that the security report by the Department of State Security against Nasir El-Rufai, one of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ministerial nominees, leading the Senate to hold back from confirming him, may have emanated from high-wired politics involving the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill, chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

The insinuations being promoted are that all the political gladiators involved in scheming out El-Rufai are looking far ahead to the post-Tinubu years and are worried a cabinet post could put him in a prime position as a political force to reckon with.

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After confirming 45 presidential nominees, the Senate cleared the former Kaduna State Governor. It also did not confirm Stella Okotete of Delta State and Abubakar Danladi of Taraba State, citing “security checks”.

Unlike the two other nominees, El-Rufai was one of the most visible campaigners for Tinubu both before and after the party primaries, standing firm against the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who backed Senate President Ahmed Lawan for the APC ticket, despite expectations that Power would be zoned to the south.

And when the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, introduced the currency swap initiative, was El-Rufai, along with two other state governments, sued the Federal Government, the CBN and others, challenged the policy at the Supreme Court.

But how El-Rufai came to be nominated as a minister has been in the news due to comments he made about serving in 2003 and not wanting to return 20 years later.

How High-wire Politics Scuttled El-Rufai’s Cabinet Confirmation.

In October 2022, Tinubu publicly said he would not leave the stage at the Kaduna Investment Summit until El-Rufai rescinded his decision to retire from public office and pursue other private endeavours. He said he needed him to stay and work with him.

In deference to Tinubu, his guest at the time, El-Rufai, went on stage to meet him and said he would work with the then-incoming government, even if it was part-time.

After emerging victorious at the poll, President Tinubu reportedly invited El-Rufai and told him that one of his campaign promises to Nigerians was the uninterrupted power supply and that he had looked around and decided that El-Rufai was the man who could deliver for him on that promise.

At first, El-Rufai was said to have hesitated in accepting the offer. Over time, it took the interventions of some patriots and well-meaning Nigerians who allegedly prevailed on El-Rufai to get the offer.

But, before he accepted the offer to serve, El-Rufai was said to have informed the President that, based on his past experiences, the gas needed to be under Gase under the same roof with the Federal Ministry of Power since gas was a critical component of the electricity supply under this time and age, coupled with the drive for clean energy and climate change. It was said that if the President accepted the proposal, the new ministry would be known as the Federal Ministry of Energy.

How High-wire Politics Scuttled El-Rufai’s Cabinet Confirmation- Legal Attorney Blog

Informed sources also hinted that El-Rufai proposed the setting up of a National Energy Council under the Chairmanship of the President with representatives of the relevant ministries, agencies and departments, such as the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Petroleum, Federal Ministry of Environment and others.

With all these, it was gathered that the President would drive the initiative for uninterrupted power supply while El-Rufai would implement it as Minister of Energy. The President consented and asked him to assemble his team and get to work immediately.

So, with the Presidential directive, El-Rufai assembled a team and began working about three weeks before his name was sent, alongside others, to the Senate for screening on 27th July 2023.

Surprisingly, when El-Rufai appeared before the Senate for the screening, a Senator from Kogi State, Sunday Karimi, after commending El-Rufai for his achievements in public office, said he had a petition against him that bothered on “security, unity and cohesiveness”. He urged the Senate to consider the petition while screening the nominee.

When El-Rufai wanted to speak to the petition, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, said he should not bother.

His words: “I have to inform all of you that I have received similar petitions from some people against other nominees, but this is not where we are to deal with petitions. Our job here is to screen. And, of course, we can refer petitions to where petitions will be dealt with.

“They are nominees of Mr. President. If it is something where there is a formal petition before the Senate, we will look at it formally. But there are certain petitions we must refer to the Presidency or security agencies to look at, which have nothing to do with us. By the time we go into confirmation, we will be so advised. So, I want my brother to take a bow and go and don’t bother to explain the petition.”

However, discreet investigation has revealed that the petition was allegedly given to Senator Karimi by Akpabio on the morning of the screening exercise. He was only asked to present it. This, perhaps, explains why he was recognized by Akpabio immediately after he raised his hands.

Reliable sources in Abuja said Senator Karimi has reportedly apologized to El-Rufai for the embarrassment. Other prominent leaders and politicians from his home state of Kogi have allegedly tendered unreserved apologies and distanced themselves from the petition and the acts of the senator.

Legal Party Blog could, however, not confirm the sequence of events regarding how the petition came into the hands of Senator Karimi as he did not answer calls to his mobile phone.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the petition, which formed the basis of the non-confirmation of El-Rufai, is the subject of a libel suit that the former Governor instituted against the petitioner, one Gloria Mabeiam Ballason, from Southern Kaduna.

Again, contrary to the insinuation that El-Rufai had been banned from holding public office in Nigeria, independent checks have revealed no such resolution. It was a mere recommendation of a Committee of the House of Representatives over 20 years ago. The proposal has been quashed by a court of competent jurisdiction. Besides, El-Rufai has since become a two-term governor of Kaduna state with outstanding performance records!

A source at the Senate said even the letter that the President of the Senate relied on to stop the confirmation of El-Rufai and others was not addressed to him. Instead, it was addressed to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate) and signed by one Aminu Yusuf, a Director in the office of the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS).

The President of the Senate was merely copied. This is against the protocols on Communication between the Executive and the Legislature, which forbids the National Assembly from acting on any communication not signed by the President, much less one that was not addressed to it.

What has now emerged is that the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, working in cahoots with the Chief of Staff, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, allegedly got a Director in the office of the DG, SSS, to sign the letter when the helmsman of the secret service purportedly refused to do the hatchet job.

How High-wire Politics Scuttled El-Rufai’s Cabinet Confirmation.

Senate fails to confirm El-Rufai, two others, cites security concerns – Legal Attorney Blog.

Reliable sources alleged that Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Ribadu and Gbajabiamila feel threatened by El-Rufai, primarily if he can deliver on the task. They do not want him to serve in the government and succeed because they are already planning for 2027 or 3031, as the case may be, and they see him as a potential threat to their aspirations.

However, a presidential aide who spoke anonymously dismissed the alleged scheming by the Vice President, the Chief of Staff and the national security adviser, saying none of them can act without the President’s approval.

The aide also said it would be unfair to expect them to respond to some of the allegations by proxy in El-Rai’s name while the former Governor himself has said nothing. He described the claims of the supposed scheming by Gbajabiamila and Ribadu as rumours and social media gossip, which are unsubstantiated.

But sources say they are also being propelled by other forces outside the government.

Some stakeholders in the Power Sector who have been paid between N2 billion and N3 billion as subsidies for electricity are afraid that with El-Rufai coming on board, the free money will stop.

They allegedly lobbied the President not to make El-Rufai the Minister of Energy because they contributed to his campaign.

Political foes like Shehu Sani, some elements in the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and even some sponsored Muslim clerics are allegedly part of the gang-up.

On Tuesday, it was said that El-Rufai requested to see the President. When they met, and El-Rufai expressed his reservations about all that happened, the President reportedly asked for 12 hours to investigate and resolve the matter. On his part, El-Rufai allegedly said 24 hours was ideal given the President’s busy schedule.

It was 24 hours on Wednesday, 9th August 2023, when the media reported that El-Rufai was at the Presidential Villa to meet with the President.

It was gathered that the meeting was for the team assembled by El-Rufai to present to the President their activities and plans to reform the power sector. But surprisingly, at the meeting, the President allegedly began to query some of the things they had agreed on weeks ago about the bringing of Gas under the Gas roof with Power and to be renamed the Federal Ministry of Energy and other reform initiatives. It seemed the appointing authority had had a change of mind. Hence, all the avoidable drama that dogged the screening and confirmation.

At the end of the meeting, a source at the Presidency said El-Rufai asked the President to see him one-on-one regarding the other matter he said hPresidentet back to him on.

The President reported president he needed to see some people waiting for him and that the Director of Protocol would call him to schedule a meeting. The meeting has not been held. But, sources close to the former Kaduna state helmsman say he is already on the verge of rejecting the ministerial offer.

As a prelude, El-Rufai has reportedly submitted the Curriculum Vitae of a senator from Kaduna state as a replacement for him since Kaduna state has no representative in the soon-to-be composed Federal Executive Council (FEC).

How High-wire Politics Scuttled El-Rufai’s Cabinet Confirmation.

Sources hinted that the former Governor of Kaduna state has since jetted out of the country to ward off pressures from party stalwarts and concerned Nigerians who are worried about the turn of events, wondering how those who lobbied him to come and serve would turn round to rubbish his enviable public records!

But sources say, whatever the case, the bulk stops on the President’s deskPresident’sally means well and wants El-Rufai to deliver for him on the constant power supply; he knows how to get him confirmed, as it happened in the case of Festus Keyamo.

“Recall that during Obasanjo’s administration, El-Rufai had an issue with the lawmakers when he alleged that some were demanding bribes from him. Obasanjo intervened, and the matter was resolved, and the Senate cleared him,” one of the sources said.

What the President will do over the next few days remains to be seen: keep his words or pander to inanities and sacrifice proven competence and capacity.