By Kolawole Ojebisi
A former Jigawa State Governor and one time Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sule Lamido, has turned down ex-Kaduna governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai’s call for opposition leaders to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain turned down El-Rufai’s coalition overtures in a BBC Hausa interview on Sunday.
Lamido dismissed the invitation as an insult, insisting that the PDP, which he helped build, laid the foundation for El-Rufai’s political career, is the best place to be.
“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 motives 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 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.
The former governor 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 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.”
He added, “The PDP has been working to rebuild its strength after losing the 2015 presidential election.”
Recall that El-Rufai, recently announced his defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the SDP.
He made the call in an interview with BBC Hausa last week.
While he did not mention Lamido by name, he invited key opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola, to join him in the SDP.
