Shehu Sani, a former senator who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th Senate, poked fun of Nasir El-Rufai, the outgoing governor of Kaduna State, on Wednesday for not being included in President Bola Tinubu’s most recent appointments.
According to the Daily Trust, Tinubu appointed Femi Gbajabiamila, the departing Speaker of the House of Representatives, as Chief of Staff and George Akume, a former governor of Benue State, as Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Akume, who was sworn in by the President on Wednesday at the Aso Villa, was the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs during the second term of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
Before Akume and Gbajabiamila were chosen, rumors abounded that the former governor of Kaduna State would be selected for one of the roles due to his close relationship with the President during campaigning.
Sani responded to the news by saying Tinubu had “dodged a poisonous knife” by manipulating the former governor out of the two positions he characterized as “critical.” Sani was evidently referring to remarks attributed to El-Rufai on the Islamization agenda.
“Tinubu would have created the seed of conflict between the President and the Vice President, speak and act as if he were more important than the two if he had chosen ‘Mr Over Sabi’ as SGF or Chief of Staff. Sani wrote in a tweet on Wednesday afternoon, “Tinubu has escaped a deadly knife.
According to a viral video on social media, El-Rufai predicted that the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the Kaduna governorship race would prevail for more than 20 years.
The former governor, who talked in Hausa in the video, also asserted that Muslim dominance was replicating itself at the federal level and that President Bola Tinubu’s win had silenced his detractors, particularly the Christian Association of Nigeria.
