A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, Mr Osita Okechukwu, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to discard the appointment of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
Mr Okechukwu made this call while speaking during an interview with journalists in Enugu on Sunday.
El-Rufai, who is one of the ministerial nominees of President Tinubu, has been a matter of public debate since the Senate refused to sign his confirmation alongside the other three nominees after their screening, citing security reasons as to why they have not been confirmed.
However, Premium Politics reported that the former Kaduna state governor allegedly backed out of the nomination, presenting one of his former commissioners in Kaduna State, Jafaru Ibrahim Sani, as a replacement.
Reacting to the development while answering questions from journalists, Mr Okechukwu advised that El-Rufai’s expected quality contributions to the nation as a minister should be put into consideration.
The Director-General of Voice of Nigeria appealed to President Tinubu to, as a matter of urgent national importance, prevent El-Rufai’s possible exit from the Federal Executive Council.
The founding member of the APC reminisced about making a similar appeal that El-Rufai should be made Chief of Staff during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration but preferred him as governor of Kaduna.
“The extraordinary El-Rufai tonic was lost, and one will not like either our dear nation or President Tinubu to miss this rare opportunity.”
Speaking on the ideas and expertise El-Rufai would bring to the fore towards revamping the nation’s power sector, Okechukwu said: “El-Rufai’s ejection from the system will unintentionally lead to the ejection of more Nigerians from the National Electricity Grid.
“A lot of rich Nigerians are already ejected from our public electricity supply chain by the epileptic power supply, and many poor Nigerians by high tariffs. We need a unique one like El-Rufai to fix it.”
“I am neither a cheerleader of Malam Nasir El-Rufai nor is he indispensable; however, as Mr The project is equipped more than some of us to not only transform our electricity chain but sanitise the toxic power industry.
“His track records in the FCT and Kaduna State confirmed his exceptional competence and capacity to overhaul our electricity chain.
“He is already rounding up his PhD on Power Reforms abroad and has assembled a team for this onerous assignment. Let him be Mr President,” Okechukwu pleaded.
While asking him about El-Rufai’s alleged transgressions, which may be the reason behind the security report against him, Okechukwu said that “One wholly condemns injustice of any hue from anyone, let alone the reckless killings that took place in Kaduna under his watch.
“Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere; however, saving thousands of lives that die in Nigeria daily by omission or commission as a result of epileptic power supply may be an atonement for Malam El-Rufai.”
