By Sabiu Abdullahi
Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has criticised ex-Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, over past comments in which the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was allegedly described as an “infidel party.”
Lamido spoke on Saturday while hosting PDP governorship candidates from Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Yobe and Jigawa states at his residence in Bamaina, Jigawa State.
The former governor reflected on the years the PDP held power at the federal level. He said the party faced criticism from political opponents as well as some Islamic clerics.
“The PDP was labelled corrupt, and some even described it as an ‘infidel party.’ Despite all that, I remained in the party because it gave me the opportunity to serve Nigeria as Minister of Foreign Affairs and twice as Governor of Jigawa State,” he said.
Lamido also revealed that some leading members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, visited him after the 2015 general elections in an attempt to convince him to defect to the ruling party.
According to him, the delegation included former President Muhammadu Buhari, President Bola Tinubu and former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola.
“I told them I could not abandon the party that made me who I am. Instead, I challenged them to come and join the PDP,” Lamido stated.
He further alleged that Pantami, during his time as Chief Imam of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Jumu’ah Mosque, delivered sermons against the PDP and prayed against the party.
Lamido claimed that Pantami later joined the PDP after he failed to secure the APC governorship ticket in Gombe State, a development that sparked reactions in political circles.
Pantami has yet to respond publicly to the remarks attributed to him by the former governor.
The comments emerged amid increasing political consultations and defections ahead of the 2027 general elections.
