Sule Lamido, former Jigawa State governor and Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, has dismissed a call by ex-Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai urging opposition leaders to join the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
El-Rufai, who recently announced his defection from the All Progressives Congress to the SDP, made the call in an interview with BBC Hausa.
While he did not specifically mention Lamido, he did invite key opposition figures such as Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola to join him in the SDP.
In a separate BBC Hausa interview on Sunday, Lamido dismissed the invitation as an insult, claiming that the PDP, which he helped build, paved the way for El-Rufai’s political career.
“The party we formed, the PDP, is the one that gave birth to El-Rufai.
“You’re not enough to make us leave the PDP,” Lamido said.
He added, “He once said that there are no adults in Nigeria in politics, but now he is calling on us to join him in the SDP.”
The former governor also questioned El-Rufai’s reasons for defecting from the APC to the SDP.
“He said he told President Buhari about his decision to leave the APC, but now he is saying that he is one of the adults in Nigerian politics,” Lamido stated.
The former governor opined that the PDP had not done anything to warrant his defection, emphasising his long-standing loyalty.
“If I was going to leave the PDP, I would have done so in 2014 when the APC was formed,” he said.
He also criticised El-Rufai’s leadership style, saying that leadership is not about anger or selfish ambition.
“Leadership is done with patience and vision, and doing things for the peace of the followers and the country as a whole,” Lamido said.
Lamido urged El-Rufai to put patriotism first instead of showing anger towards others, saying, “What should be done is to put patriotism first, instead of showing anger towards someone.”
He added, “The PDP has been working to rebuild its strength after losing the 2015 presidential election.”
