By Anwar Usman
Former Jigawa State Governor and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Sule Lamido, has rejected a call by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, calling on opposition leaders to join the Social Democratic Party.
El-Rufai, who recently announced his defection from the All Progressives Congress to the SDP, made the call in an interview with BBC Hausa.
Though he did not mention Lamido by name, he urged key opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola, to join him in the SDP.
While responding in a separate BBC Hausa interview on Sunday, Lamido rejected the invitation as an insult, insisting that the PDP, which he helped build, laid the foundation for El-Rufai’s political career.
Lamido was quoted saying “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 that, “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 the motives behind El-Rufai’s for defection 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.
Lamido further argued that the PDP had not done anything to warrant his defection, emphasizing 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.
Lamido also challenged El-Rufai’s leadership style, noting that leadership is not about anger or selfish ambition.
Lamido advised 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”.