Prominent socio-political activist, Aisha Yesufu, has alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu deliberately sidelined former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to make him politically irrelevant.
Yesufu claimed that Tinubu’s decision to exclude El-Rufai from his cabinet was a calculated political move, asserting that the Department of State Services (DSS) report cited by the Senate was merely an excuse to justify his non-confirmation.
Her statement followed the resignation of Uche Nnaji, former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, amid fresh allegations of certificate forgery, which has stirred renewed scrutiny over ministerial appointments under the Tinubu administration.
Reacting to comments by Arise TV anchor Rufai Oseni, who questioned how the DSS could have screened Nnaji without detecting the alleged forgery, Yesufu took to social media to link the issue to El-Rufai’s political fate.
“Nasir El-Rufai’s case is that Tinubu wanted to humiliate him. DSS excuse was just that — excuse,” she wrote.
According to her, even if the DSS had truly found El-Rufai wanting, the President could have still influenced the National Assembly to confirm his ministerial nomination.
> “With the National Assembly deeply in Tinubu’s pocket, he could have commanded them to confirm him,” she said.
“Even after the Senate refused, Tinubu could have appointed him to a role that didn’t require legislative confirmation or positioned him as a trusted ally like Buhari’s nephew, Mamman Daura. But he didn’t. He left him out in the cold.”
Yesufu further alleged that Tinubu’s goal was to neutralize El-Rufai’s political influence, suggesting that the former governor now sees Tinubu’s removal from power in 2027 as key to reviving his political relevance.
“Tinubu wants El-Rufai to be politically irrelevant, and El-Rufai needs Tinubu out of office to regain his political credibility. In all of it, na dem dem,” she concluded.
