I pity El-Rufai, he is still hurt for losing ministerial spot….he should stop sulking–Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesman
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has said that he believes the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, is hurt because he was blocked from being a minister in the Tinubu administration.
El-Rufai, who has been critical of Tinubu’s government in recent times, claimed on Monday night during an interview on Arise TV that Tinubu, not the National Assembly, blocked his nomination as a minister after initially asking him to be part of the government.
“The National Assembly had nothing to do with it, the president didn’t want me in his cabinet,” El-Rufai had said.
Reacting to his statement on Tuesday during an interview on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily, Mr Onanuga said: “As a person, I think I will pity the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai. He feels hurt that he was not made a minister…I think it is time for him to move on.
“You cannot continue to behave like a child as if somebody stole your bread and things like that and then you’re crying over spilt milk?
“It’s natural for him to feel hurt, excluded and I think that as the president acknowledged in a recent birthday tribute to him Nasiru actually helped a lot in installing President Tinubu and if he’s not there it doesn’t mean that he must bring down the roof.”
Onanuga stressed that the president has nothing against El-Rufai, reiterating that the ex-governor was only frustrated for not being part of the Federal Government.
He said El-Rufai’s criticism against the Tinubu administration does not “reflect reality,” adding that the government inherited numerous problems but “things are getting better”.
