There have been serious bedlams since the news of El Rufai’s failed confirmation by the Red Chamber and even though it was not the former Kaduna State governor alone that was not confirmed, he, however, has been at the center of everything.
For the Senate, the reason El Rufai was not confirmed was solely because of the litany of ‘security issues’ he is currently rocking, no thanks to several petitions that accompanied his nomination.
Nonetheless, some Northern bigwigs believe that there is more to it than the alleged ‘security issues’ mentioned by the Senate leadership.
This believe matches the sentiments of one of the renowned youth groups in Northern Nigeria, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), who, earlier today said that El Rufai’s failed confirmation was a pointer to a gang-up against the North.
In a statement by the Arewa president, Yerima Shettima, the forum stated that youths and the entire northern Nigeria feel humiliated by the news, while warning that their patience should not be tested.
“We regret to note that the targeting of Nasir El-Rufai for such irreverent treatment is part of a wider agenda being pursued by certain dubious political interests to deny the North fair representation in the coming cabinet.
“It is suspicious that El-Rufai, who is among the best, if not the best of all the names submitted by the President should be among the only three that could not be confirmed without justifiable reasons.
“We consider it deceptive for the Senate to give security checks as reason for not confirming El-Rufai because it is common knowledge that the ministerial nomination list passed through security scrutiny before getting to the Senate.
“It will therefore amount to unwarranted provocation to Kaduna State, to the North and to the Nigerian youth for El-Rufai not to be confirmed for flimsy considerations,” Shettima stated.