Governor Nasir El-Rufai has explained the reasons behind the removal of his Chief of Staff, Muhammed Sani Abdullahi, and his transfer to the Ministry of Budget and Planning Commission as a commissioner.
The governor said since Sani left the ministry two years ago, the administration had been having challenges preparing budgets.
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He was speaking during a media chat aired in the state and the audio obtained by Daily Trust, in which he said the removal of the chief of staff had nothing to do with addressing Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi II as former Emir of Kano at an event in the state, recently.
El-Rufai described what transpired between the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Sanusi) and Abdullahi as a historical joke between Zaria and Kano people in which Zaria considered Kano people as their slaves.
He explained that those who linked the joke to his cabinet reshuffling lacked understanding of government.
He said the reshuffling was simply to strengthen his cabinet by taking people where they could assist the government work better.
The governor added that the relationship between him and Sanusi was advisory and not on how to run the government.
“He is the vice-chancellor of our state university because he is a professional in that aspect. Secondly, he is the deputy chairman of KADIPA.
“These are the two areas he is assisting us with advice and again everybody knows Muhammadu Sanusi is a qualified economist and so I only seek his advice on this aspect.
“But not on how I run my government or who will work with me. I don’t seek advice from anybody outside my colleagues in the government and we usually sit together to discuss,” he said.
