El-Rufai, one of the ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu, had withdrawn his interest and recommended Jafaru Sani, a staunch loyalist who served as commissioner in his administration as Kaduna governor, as his replacement.
It was gathered that Mr El-Rufai informed the president that he had notified Governor Sani about the option and that both parties had agreed before the former governor left for Egypt. Reacting to this, Governor Sani told Channels Television that that he only met with President Tinubu to discuss recent issues concerning his predecessor’s ministerial nomination, and that at no time did he oppose or reject the man that was recommended by El-Rufai.