Sule Lamido, a former Jigawa State Governor and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain has turned the call by ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasiru El-Rufai for opposition leaders to join forces with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) ahead of 2027 general elections.

Lamido made this known in an interview with BBC Hausa Service on Sunday, March 16, 2025, dismissing El-Rufai’s invitation as an insult.

His reaction follows a recent call by the former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, who called on key opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola, to join him in his new party.

Recall that EL-Rufai, who announced his resignation from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, March 17, 205, made the call in an earlier interview with BBC Hausa.

“My wishes and prayers are for Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, Rauf, and all opposition leaders to come and join SDP, not to do a merger or to register a new political party,” he said.

ALSO READ: Kaduna markets associations, women slam El-Rufai, rally to Tinubu, Sani’s sides

Lamido slams El-Rufai

In his response, Lamido reminded El-Rufai that the PDP, which he helped build, laid the foundation for the former Kaduna Governor’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, adding, “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 probed El-Rufai’s motives for defecting from the APC to the SDP, pointing out alleged flaws in his claim regarding former President Muhammadu Buhari‘s purported endorsement of the move.

“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 stated.

Lamido stressed that the PDP had not done anything to force him out of the party, reaffirming his long-standing loyalty by saying, “If I was going to leave the PDP, I would have done so in 2014 when the APC was formed.”

The PDP chieftain slammed El-Rufai’s leadership style, saying leadership is not about anger or selfish ambition.

ALSO READ: Drop coalition talks; come and join SDP – El-Rufai tells Atiku, Obi, Aregbesola

“Leadership is done with patience and vision, and doing things for the peace of the followers and the country as a whole,” he noted.

Lamido counselled the former FCT minister to prioritise patriotism instead of showing anger towards others, saying, “What should be done is to put patriotism first, instead of showing anger towards someone.”

Members of market associations and numerous women groups in Kaduna State have reiterated their loyalty and support for President Bola Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani’s administration.

Over the weekend, the demonstrators trooped to the Kaduna metropolis in their hundreds to peacefully express their feelings about recent developments in the polity.

They recounted their alleged bitter experiences under former Governor Nasiru El-Rufai‘s administration and affirmed their support for Sani.

The protesters advised Kaduna residents not to be deceived into opposing the incumbent governments at the state and federal levels.

This follows El-Rufai’s defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

ALSO READ: SDP youths accuse El-Rufai of attempting to hijack the party, reject his defection

While announcing his exit from the APC, the former Governor claimed that his decision was influenced by misalignment of values with the ruling party.

Kaduna market associations, women slam El-Rufai

Meanwhile, the protesters recounted their ordeals during the previous administration’s eight years, alleging that hundreds of market shops belonging to individuals were either seized, demolished or confiscated.

They said the situation triggered ill health in many traders and business owners, leading to paralysis and multiple deaths of their colleagues.

“We’ve been in the market for over 40 years and have never experienced the kind of set backs we suffered under the previous Governor,” Daniel Audu Maigari, a stakeholder of the Kaduna Market associations, has said.

“A lot of lives were lost,a lot of finances were ruined by reason of his kind of policies. We are here to speak with one voice and say that anything that would kind of revive such kind of philosophy in Kaduna market, we don’t want it.”

ALSO READ: Drop coalition talks; come and join SDP – El-Rufai tells Atiku, Obi, Aregbesola

Explaining further, Maigari said, “this incumbent Governor began by healing the wounds, the wounds that were really severed by the former Governor. Governor Uba Sani has been doing so,so very well and that’s why we’ve been with our leader, Alhaji Abdurrahman Mohammed, who like Governor Sani,has been charting the right course, ensuring programmes and plans that will heal these wounds.”

He added that there has never been a time when they have had the impact of leadership in the Kaduna market like they are now.

” Now we’ve lots of incentives, lots of policies that are driving us to progress .We are now standing with one voice to denounce anything that would reverse this,” he stated.

The protesters later marched to the streets, hoisting placards with various inscriptions denouncing the previous arrangements and chanting slogans supporting Tinubu, Sani and the APC.

A coalition of Nigeria’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) youths and supporters has accused the former Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai, of attempting to hijack the party following his recent defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement by its President, Comrade Abdulsamad Bello, on Friday, March 14, 2025, the group expressly rejected El-Rufai’s defection, describing his membership as a direct threat to the core democratic values and progressive ideology that SDP stands for.

This is coming barely five days after the former Kaduna Governor officially switched allegiance to the opposition party, after months of meetings with opposition leaders for a possible coalition to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

However, his defection sparked a storm among party members, particularly the SDP Youths and Supporters Coalition.

Speaking on Friday, Bello described El-Rufai as “unfit and morally unqualified” to be part of the SDP, citing what he called his “anti-democratic record” during his tenure as governor.

ALSO READ: Exodus in Kaduna APC – party in crisis as El-Rufai’s allies resign

“We reject El-Rufai’s entrance into our party in its entirety. He has come not as a reformer but as an undertaker, seeking to bury the SDP before it even has the chance to grow,” the group said.

SDP youths accuse party leaders of making a secret deal with El-Rufai

The coalition also criticised the party’s leadership for what it described as a “clandestine deal” that allowed El-Rufai’s defection, warning that his presence could destabilise the party.

“El-Rufai has never believed in democracy. His history of suppressing opposition voices, sidelining party members, and enforcing his will through coercion is well known.

ALSO READ: El-Rufai: Buhari approved my defection from APC to SDP

“It is shocking that the leadership of our party would allow itself to be infiltrated by someone whose tenure in office was marked by impunity, authoritarianism, and disregard for democratic values,” Bello added.

The former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister’s arrival in the SDP has triggered tensions. A group of El-Rufai’s supporters staged a demonstration at the SDP national headquarters in Abuja, calling for the resignation of the party’s national secretary, Olu Agunloye.

The youth coalition noted that the development is evidence of El-Rufai’s attempt to seize control of the party’s leadership.

“Barely days after joining our party, El-Rufai is already pushing for a leadership change. He is demanding that Olu Agunloye resigns, even when the party has its own internal mechanisms for handling such matters. This is a clear sign of his desperation to control the SDP and mould it in his own image,” the statement added.

The group accused El-Rufai of using the SDP as a platform for his personal political ambitions, particularly in light of his recent criticisms of President Tinubu and the APC.

“El-Rufai’s resignation from the APC and his calculated entry into the SDP is nothing but a desperate attempt to reinvent himself politically.

“The same man who once insulted opposition leaders and dismissed them as irrelevant is now seeking refuge in their midst. His hypocrisy knows no bounds.

“We call on all genuine members of the SDP to rise against this backdoor takeover. The SDP is not a retirement home for failed politicians or a playground for those who trample on democracy. We will resist any attempt to mortgage our party’s future for selfish political ambitions,” Bello concluded.