During the recent wedding of his
eldest son, Bello, to his second wife, Aisha Habibu
Shuaibu, on Saturday,
Former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai was noticeably absent. Reports indicated
that El-Rufai had departed the country while awaiting security clearance for
his Senate confirmation.
Last week, the Senate confirmed 45
out of the 48 ministerial nominees presented by President Bola Tinubu. However,
El-Rufai, along with two other nominees – Stella Okotete (Delta) and Danladi
Abubakar (Taraba) – were not granted confirmation due to pending security
clearance.
Prior to his departure abroad,
El-Rufai had a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa in
Abuja on Tuesday. Sources suggest that he headed to Europe, with Egypt being
his initial stop.
The wedding ceremony involved
Bello, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Banking
Regulations, and the daughter of former Military Administrator for Plateau and
Niger States, Col. Habibu Shuaibu. The event took place in Abuja, with Governor
Uba Sani of Kaduna, who Bello previously served as a legislative aide when Sani
was a Senator, standing in as the father of the day.
In accordance with Hausa
tradition, the representative of the groom’s father, known as the Wakili,
receives the bride during a wedding ceremony, while the representative of the
bride’s family, known as the waliyyi, formally gives away the bride. Notably,
this tradition didn’t prevent the parents of the couple from being present, as
Hajia Hadiza Isma El-Rufai was in attendance.
Governor Uba Sani expressed his
delight at being the father of the day during the wedding and shared images
from the event on his verified social media account. He conveyed his best
wishes to the newlyweds and prayed for their happiness and a blessed marriage.
