Erstwhile Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido has rejected former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s invitation to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP). El-Rufai made the call when he spoke with the BBC Hausa Service.

He also invited Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola, to join him in the SDP. In a separate BBC Hausa interview yesterday, Lamido, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the invitation was an insult, adding that his party, which he helped built, led the foundation for el-Rufai’s political career.

He said: “It’s an act of disrespect for him to make that call. How can a little child claim to be more intelligent than his grandfather? “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 questioned El-Rufai’s motives for defecting from the APC to the SDP. The ex-governor said:

“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 the PDP had not done anything to warrant his defection, emphasizing his longstanding 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 criticised El-Rufai’s leadership style, saying leadership is not about anger or selfish ambition.