Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai was notably absent as his eldest son, Bello, tied the knot with his second wife, Aisha Habibu Shuaibu, this past Saturday. El-Rufai’s departure from the country followed his withdrawal from the ministerial race, a matter reported by Okay.ng.
Last week, the Senate confirmed 45 out of the 48 ministerial nominees presented by President Bola Tinubu. However, El-Rufai, along with Stella Okotete (Delta) and Danladi Abubakar (Taraba), were not granted confirmation due to pending security clearances.
Before his international trip, the former governor had a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja. Sources indicated that he was bound for Europe, with a stopover in Egypt.
Bello, who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Banking Regulations, privately solemnized his union with Aisha Shuaibu in Abuja. Notably, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna, under whom Bello had served as a legislative aide when Uba was a senator, assumed the role of the father of the day.
Traditionally, the groom’s father’s representative, known as the Wakili, receives the bride at a wedding, while the waliyyi, representing the bride’s family, formally gives her away. Despite this custom, the parents of the couple were still present at the ceremony, including Hajia Hadiza Isma El-Rufai.
Governor Uba Sani expressed his happiness at serving as the father of the day through his verified X account (previously known as Twitter). He posted images of the event and captioned them: “On Saturday, August 12th, 2023, I had the honour of standing in as the father of the groom at the wedding ceremony of my former Senior Legislative Aide and House of Representatives Member (Kaduna North Fed. Constituency), Hon. Bello El-Rufai and his beautiful wife, Aisha Shuaibu. I wish them a happy married life and I pray that Allah makes theirs among the best. Ameen.”
Here are some images from the event:
