‘You Are Not Enough To Make Us Leave PDP’ – Lamido Rejects El-Rufai’s Call To Join SDP

Former Jigawa State Governor and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Sule Lamido, has rejected a call by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, urging opposition leaders to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Naija News reports that El-Rufai, who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the SDP, made the appeal during an interview with BBC Hausa, inviting key opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola, to join him. Though he did not mention Lamido by name, the invitation was directed at prominent opposition politicians.

Responding in a separate BBC Hausa interview on Sunday, Lamido dismissed the invitation as an insult, stressing that the PDP, which he played a key role in building, was instrumental in launching 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 also took a swipe at El-Rufai’s past remarks, recalling that he once claimed there were no adults in Nigerian politics, yet he is now calling on experienced politicians to join the SDP.

Lamido said: “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 Jigawa governor further questioned El-Rufai’s motives for leaving the APC, pointing out contradictions in his statements.

“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,” he said.

Lamido reaffirmed his loyalty to the PDP, stating that if he had ever considered leaving, he would have done so in 2014 when the APC was formed.

“If I was going to leave the PDP, I would have done so in 2014 when the APC was formed,” the PDP chieftain said.

The former governor also criticized El-Rufai’s leadership style, emphasizing that leadership requires patience and selflessness rather than anger or personal 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, advising El-Rufai to prioritize patriotism over resentment, saying:

He said: “What should be done is to put patriotism first, instead of showing anger towards someone.”

The former governor concluded by highlighting the PDP’s ongoing efforts to rebuild its strength after its 2015 presidential election loss.