A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, not to eject Mallam Nasir el-Rufai as a member of his cabinet.
The appointment of the former Kaduna governor has been a subject of controversy after his confirmation was put on hold by the Senate allegedly to complete the process of security report on him.
There has also been a report that el-Rufai, following the mix-up, has opted to reject the ministerial slot.
However, Mr. Okechukwu, in Abuja on Sunday, counselled that El-Rufai’s expected quality contributions to the nation as minister of power should be put into consideration.
Okechukwu, who is also the Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), appealed to President Tinubu, to, as a matter of urgent national importance, halt his reported ejection of el-Rufai from the Federal Executive Council, especially when Mr President earlier publicly invited Malam to make his Cabinet.
He recalled making a similar appeal in 2015 that el-Rufai should be made the Chief of Staff, but former President Muhammadu Buhari preferred him as governor of Kaduna State.
According to Okechukwu: “The extraordinary el-Rufai tonic was lost by Buhari, and one will not like neither our dear nation, nor President Tinubu, to miss this rare gem.
“Added is that our great party the APC, will benefit immensely from plethora of performing ministers as we approach 2027 general elections.”
While harping on the ideas el-Rufai would bring on the table towards revamping the nation’s power sector, Okechukwu added: “el-Rufai’s ejection from the system will regrettably 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 epileptic power supply and many poor Nigerians by high tariffs. We need a unique one like El-Rufai to fix it.”
Accused of bootlicking Okechukwu quipped,
“I am neither a cheerleader of Malam Nasir el-Rufai, nor am I saying that he is indispensable; however as Mr. Project, he is equipped more than some of us to not only transform our electricity chain, but sanitise the toxic energy industry.
Okechukwu went further to state that Nigeria cannot develop until we fix our electricity supply chain, as small, medium and larger scale industries cannot thrive successfully under less than 4,000 megawatts.
“President Tinubu should not eject el-Rufai because of his minuses, because his plus track records in BPE, FCT, and Kaduna State confirmed his exceptional competence and capacity to overhaul our electricity chain.
“One understands that after Mr. President’s invitation, he had assembled a team for this onerous assignment. Let him be Mr. President,” Okechukwu appealed.
Asked if he is not aware of el-Rufai’s alleged transgressions which may be the reason behind the security report against him, Okechukwu answered that, “one wholly condemns injustice of any hue from anyone, let alone the reckless killings which took place in Kaduna under his watch.
“Injustice anywhere is injustice to all; however, saving thousands of lives that die in Nigeria daily by omission or commission over the years as result of epileptic power supply may be an atonement for Malam El-Rufai. Otherwise, is only in heaven that multiple angels abound.”
