The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has asked former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai to move past his disappointment of not making it to President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet as minister.

Speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday, Mr Onanuga said he sympathised with Mr El-Rufai, suggesting his recent public statements stem from personal hurt rather than a broader political stance.

“As a person, I will only pity the former governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, He feels hurt that he was not made a minister.

“I think it’s time for him to move on. He cannot continue to behave like a child, as if somebody stole your bread and you are crying over spilt milk.

“It’s natural for him to feel hurt, it is natural for him to feel bad that he has been excluded. As the president acknowledged in a recent birthday tribute to him, Nasir helped install President Tinubu. That he’s not there doesn’t mean he should bring down the roof,” he said.

Mr Onanuga’s comments came after the former governor, El-Rufai, publicly criticised President Tinubu’s administration, including its economic policies and party leadership, on Arise TV.

He stated that President Tinubu did not want him in his cabinet despite submitting his name to the Senate for confirmation.

He clarified that his exclusion from the cabinet was the president’s decision, not a Senate rejection.

Mr El-Rufai was one of 48 ministerial nominees sent by President Tinubu to the Senate for screening in 2023. He was, however, rejected, alongside two others, for security reasons.

The governor has since disputed this claim, insisting that the security concerns were unfounded.

“What was the security issue? I have been the governor of one of the difficult states. I was a minister 20 years ago.

“The president publicly appealed to me to put my plans on hold, and through two months of negotiations, we finally agreed that he would nominate me as minister, and there were certain conditions I attached to that.

“I think along the line, either the president changed his mind or something else. Please don’t believe the story that the National Assembly rejected me. The National Assembly had nothing to do with this, the president didn’t want me in his cabinet, he changed his mind. Whatever it is, I don’t care, and I’ve moved on,’’ he stated.

Mr El-Rufai expressed uncertainty about his future with the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he is unsure if he would still be a party member by 2027.