The former Kaduna state governor was one of the three ministerial nominations that were deferred when the list of 48 nominees was confirmed by the Senate last week.

Nasir El-Rufai took umbrage at President Bola Tinubu to his face during a pugnacious meeting at the State House earlier this week.

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The former Kaduna governor decried Mr. Tinubu’s failure to be upfront about any reservations the president might have held against his ministerial appointment as indicative of a suppressed animosity, as the controversy over his nomination continued to drive ripples across

Mr. El-Rufai specifically said it appeared Mr Tinubu had “reservations about me because you can’t claim not to be aware of the petitions,” according to the account of one of our sources which was subsequently corroborated by another State House official with first-hand knowledge of what transpired at the meeting.

Mr. El-Rufai’s brutal candour before the president startled people around the Presidential Villa, with many fearing the political fallout.

“We know of his high level of competence,” an Aso Rock aide said of Mr. El-Rufai, “and the president would rather have him as an ally rather than even a cursory enemy.”

The issue have been the machinations of national security adviser Nuhu Ribadu, who boosted the severity of a string of complaints against Mr. El-Rufai’s viability for a seat on the federal executive council to oppose his security clearance, our sources said.

Mr. El-Rufai met with the president shortly after the news went viral on Wednesday that he had decided to step aside from Mr. Tinubu’s cabinet because his nomination was withheld amid a cloud of security concerns. He specifically blamed the president for allowing Mr Ribadu and other zealous security aides to withhold his security clearance and consequently allow rumours to proliferate about his status.

Mr. El-Rufai was one of the three ministerial nominations that were withheld when the list of 48 nominees was considered last week. The two others, Abubakar Danladi of Taraba and Stella Okotete of Delta, have not made relentless headlines because they are not as controversial as Mr El-Rufai.

The senators, however, cleared 45 candidates, including Nyesom Wike and Abubakar Bagudu, both of whom are widely adjudged among the most violent, corrupt politicians the country has ever seen.

Mr Ribadu and other aides were said to have fervently pushed the president to pay attention to the cornucopia of damaging petitions submitted against Mr. El-Rufai from different parts of the country, which ranged from allegations of fomenting ethnic clashes in Kaduna to cornering public funds.

Before finally removing himself as a potential minister, Mr El-Rufai rejected entreaties from allies to make peace with Mr Ribadu to enable the national security adviser to reconsider any opposition against his nomination. Mr Ribadu did not return a request seeking comments.

Mr El-Rufai has not publicly commented on either his withdrawal from ministerial consideration or the specific allegations against him in public petitions, but he has previously pushed against allegations of violence or corruption generally. He had initially planned to play along until his confirmation before publicly announcing his intention to quit before his inauguration, but that strategy became difficult to follow through.

Notwithstanding his decision to turn down Mr Tinubu’s appointment, Mr El-Rufai, who was being considered for power minister, told the president he would not hesitate to offer support should it be required by the administration. Consequently, he mentioned Jafaru Sani, one of his former commissioners in Kaduna, as his replacement, our sources said.

The governor also said he had informed Governor Uba Sani of his intention to nominate a potential minister from Kaduna, and both had agreed on the choice. Mr Sani did not immediately return a request seeking comments.

Mr El-Rufai backed Mr Tinubu for president earlier this year, an endorsement largely seen as crucial to the campaign’s success in the electorally-lucrative northwestern region, and the fear of losing that support has gripped presidential aides. A presidential spokesman did not immediately return a request seeking comment.

Mr El-Rufai departed Abuja for Egypt on Thursday night, although it was unclear when he would be back in the country or how his future plans would unfold.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state has narrated how he found out that his deputy, Philip Shaibu, was “working against him”.

According to Obaseki, Shaibu has become so desperate to succeed him, ahead of the Edo governorship election in 2024.

He spoke at a gathering with stakeholders in the state.

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The governor said: “He (Shaibu) went to Abuja and was boasting that he has connections in Abuja, that he has people in the national assembly, that they are all with the president now, that they will take care of him. That if he cannot get the ticket in PDP, he knows what to do.

“I kept quiet and said I thought we were together. But what struck me, and I have never said this to anybody, is that after I proclaimed the house of assembly, we were now going to elect officers.

“He was in Abuja, he came back that day. I am the chief security officer of this state. I get any information I need. But I have that responsibility to keep quiet and use the information properly.

“My deputy called the leader in APC, telling that leader that during the elections on the next day, particularly speaker of the house of assembly, that he has five members who are loyal to him and that he would like the seven members of APC to work with his five members of PDP to produce the next speaker.

“As far as I am concerned, that was not working in our common interest. Why would the deputy governor seek to have another speakership candidate outside of what the governor wants? Are we working together?

“That was when I knew we had a problem. That the deputy governor has become so desperate to take over that he would do anything, including carrying out a coup, against his governor. How can you say you are loyal and you will do such a thing?”

Meanwhile, Shaibu has dismissed speculations of joining the All Progressives Congress (APC), following his rift with Obaseki.

The deputy governor said this in response to reports that he would be received in Abuja next week by the APC National Working Committee (NWC).

Shaibu, in a statement by his chief press secretary, Musa Ebomhiana, described the rumour as the handwork of mischief makers who are bent on destabilizing Edo state.

“Mischief makers bent on destabilizing our dear Edo State are still at work. They will stop at nothing to widen the gulf between Mr Governor, His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki and his Deputy, Comrade Philip Shaibu.

“They have generated more lies from the pit of hell, saying that Shaibu has perfected plans to rejoin the APC next week. There is no iota of truth in this. The mischief makers claim that the APC NWC is set to receive me in Abuja. Is it the NWC of a party that receives a decampee into the party?.

“In view of this, I plead with these characters bent on driving a wedge between Comrade Shaibu and his boss, to put the Edo project and the people far above their own selfish interest,” the statement read in part.

Nigerian senators have received their “holiday token” allowance as directed by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

The controversial directive which has incensed Nigerians and has dominated the social media was earlier denied by the Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, Ireti Kingibe.

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The Senate management has kept mute and attempt to confirm this paper’s findings on Thursday was not fruitful.

Kingibe said she had received only “statutory allowance” and she did “not know what” Akpabio was talking about.

Recall Akpabio during the last day of extraordinary plenary to confirm ministerial nominees whose names were sent for screening and confirmation by President Bola Tinubu had directed that the clerk of the national assembly to send to each senator “holiday token for enjoyment.”

He however said “I withdraw that statement” after his colleagues expressed their shock and frowned at it as it was exposing them to public ridicule.

Akpabio afterwards added that he had sent “prayers to your mailbox”, a revelation Senator Kingibe also denied noting that “I have not received any email.”

According to THE WHISTLER, a screenshot of the credit alert shared on Thursday afternoon showed that the 109 senators in the Nigerian upper house have received the alert.

In an alert which a senator from Ondo State (name withheld) forwarded, a credit alert of N2 million was seen.

The alert was received at exactly 11:44am on August 8, 2023.

The information on the alert show, “txn: credit Ac:2xx .97x Amount NGN:2,000,000.00

Nigeria’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aminu Bashir Wali, has said that it is dangerous for Nigeria to start a war against the military junta in Niger.

He stated this on Arise TV during a chat on the recent developments regarding the coup in the West African country.

Wali said the decision to go to war by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was ill-thought.

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He cautioned the Nigerian government on its decisions regarding the situation in Niger, saying that Nigeria needed its meagre resources to tackle the security crisis bedeviling it before trying to interfere in another country.

He said, “Before the ECOWAS goes to war in Niger, they should know that going to war isn’t a simple thing. The whole international community is involved in any war that is happening anywhere and in any part of the world. What we are talking about is this: ECOWAS has taken a decision. They want to go to war. But that’s not the end of the matter.

“We have to be very careful how we tackle the situation in Niger. Any crisis of this nature is of concern to the entire international community because if ECOWAS decides to go to war, the Security Council of the United Nations will now have to give a go-ahead. And what I’m scared of is a proxy war in Niger, because we in Nigeria will also be involved. Because the whole of ECOWAS is looking at Nigeria and not any other country.

“And when we look at our own country today, internally we need our resources, we need our military to bring peace and security because we are not secure ourselves.

“So how can we now decide to use the meagre resources that we have to go and start funding a war in a foreign country?”

On Thursday, ECOWAS ordered the Chief of Defence Staff Committee to immediately activate its standby force in readiness for war in Niger.

This came after the ECOWAS leaders had converged on Abuja to discuss the next line of action following the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum for the reinstatement of President Mohamed Bazoum.

At the meeting, the regional bloc said all efforts to discuss with Niger military junta had been rejected by the coup leaders.