Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has revealed that a cabal surrounding former President Muhammadu Buhari blocked his initial plan to appoint the late Chief Audu Ogbeh as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). El-Rufai disclosed this during a Night of Tribute held in honor of Ogbeh in Abuja.
El-Rufai stated that Buhari wanted to appoint a Christian from the Middle Belt to balance his government and counter claims of religious bias. Buhari had settled on Ogbeh as his only choice for the position.
However, El-Rufai narrated that individuals close to Buhari falsely claimed that Ogbeh had a substantial loan with a bank for his agricultural business, amounting to billions of naira. They alleged that Ogbeh’s priority would be to repay the loan rather than focus on his duties as SGF.
This falsehood influenced Buhari’s decision, leading him to appoint someone else as SGF. El-Rufai confronted Buhari, emphasizing that borrowing was not a crime and that Ogbeh was a successful farmer who was servicing the loan.
Despite missing out on the SGF position, Audu Ogbeh was later appointed as the Minister of Agriculture from 2015 to 2019. El-Rufai noted that Buhari admitted to being misled and sought to make amends by offering Ogbeh the ministerial role. He emphasized that this inside information had remained private until the tribute event.
