Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai on Monday dismissed comments by Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, accusing him of frustration over not being appointed as a minister by President Bola Tinubu.
El-Rufai described Omokri as “a political mercenary retained by any paying person or government.”
The clash began after Omokri alleged that El-Rufai’s criticisms of a Lagos rail project funded by the Federal Government stemmed from resentment over his non-inclusion in Tinubu’s cabinet. Omokri tweeted, “Nasir El-Rufai is just being clever by half in expressing his frustration at not being made a minister by attacking the funding of a rail project in Lagos by the Federal Government. Under Buhari, Nigeria took out a $2 billion loan to build a railway in Niger Republic. Did El-Rufai complain then? Not at all!
“Today, that same Niger is now hostile towards Nigeria. If we can build a railway worth $2 billion (which was 10% of Niger’s GDP at the time) for a foreign country because General Buhari’s father was from Niger, why shouldn’t the Federal Government contribute towards building a railway in Lagos State.
Read also: S3X ASSAULT: Beyonce heartbroken Jay Z’s accuser is of ‘similar age’ to their daughter -Report
“After all, 8% of Nigeria’s population lives in Lagos, while 35% of our GDP comes from Lagos, which contributes ₦44.17 trillion to our economy. How much does Niger contribute to our GDP? Did the Federal Government under Jonathan not also spend $1.2 billion building the Abuja-Kaduna superfast railway?”
El-Rufai responded on X (formerly Twitter), sharing photos of Omokri protesting against Tinubu’s election and accusing him of frequently changing allegiances. He wrote, “The interesting lifecycle of Wendell Simlin, also sometimes retained as a political mercenary by any person or government that can pay.”
El-Rufai also referenced past allegations of identity theft against Omokri, where an American woman accused him of using her son’s name, Wendell Simlin, in an attempt to connect the former Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi, to Boko Haram.
The exchange stirred reactions within political circles, with some All Progressives Congress (APC) members interpreting El-Rufai’s comments as criticism of Tinubu’s administration.
Senator Shehu Sani, a former lawmaker representing Kaduna Central, also weighed in. Sani accused El-Rufai of hypocrisy, noting that the former governor had remained silent on nepotism during Buhari’s tenure but now criticizes similar issues under Tinubu.
Sani tweeted, “There were people who were silent when Buhari was filling political offices with his kinsmen and have now found their voices to speak out when the equation doesn’t favour them. Let’s not make reference to the nepotism that marginalised Southern Kaduna for eight years. Kaduna was an apartheid state for eight years.”
He added, “While anyone can critique Tinubu on alleged lopsided appointments or nepotism, El-Rufai lacks the moral standing to do so.”
The ongoing controversy highlights lingering tensions over political appointments and perceived allegiances within Nigeria’s political landscape.
The post El-Rufai labels Reno Omokri a “political mercenary” amid ministerial appointment controversy appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.