Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has denied a social media story that he opposed the ministerial nomination of his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai, or his recommended replacement.
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 withholding of his nomination, El-Rufai reportedly met with President Bola Tinubu within the week and told him he was no longer interested in being a minister and recommended that his former commissioner, Jafaru Sani, should replace him.
However, Governor Sani has denied a trending social media story that he met with President Tinubu where he rejected Jafaru on the ground that he is a loyalist of el-Rufai.
Describing the story as false, malicious, and misleading, Governor Sani told Channels Television 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.
He explained that the false 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.
“What 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),” the governor explained.
“I went to see the president specifically because I was worried by the turn of events. I believe both of them mean well for the country.
“At no time did we discuss the issue of replacement. That is the least of my worries.
“If indeed Mallam wants to nominate a replacement, I will never oppose his choice. We are on the same page. Those who know us very well know that this is all lies. We know where the disinformation is coming from but we are not bothered,” he added.