President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has convinced the immediate past governor of Kaduna state, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, not to retire from public service, following the ex-governor’s ministerial appointment last week.
President Tinubu, then as presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had publicly begged El-Rufai to postpone his retirement plan and work with him, if he wins the 2023 polls, noting that Nigeria needs his experience at this crucial period of the nation’s existence.
El-Rufai had, in July 2022, said in an interview that he would retire after the expiration of his two terms as governor, noting that he became minister at the age of 43 in 2003. And having given his all energy, he felt that it was time to take a deserved rest and allow for younger persons to be considered for ministerial office.
The former governor then had indicated that he wants to move abroad to pursue his PhD.
“I am tired. I’m not tired of serving the nation. I’m just physically tired because I do take my work seriously and in the last seven to eight years, I have worked flat out,” he said.
However, three months after el-Rufai revealed his retirement plan, Asiwaju Tinubu while delivering his speech at the Kaduna Investment and Economy Summit in October, 2022, as APC presidential candidate, vowed that he would not leave the podium until he gets a commitment from the then Kaduna state governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai on remaining in public service after his tenure as governor.
