Sule Lamido Rejects APC Overtures from Tinubu, Buhari and Fashola
Former Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido has pushed back against continual criticism of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stating that senior figures in the All Progressives Congress (APC) once tried to convince him to leave the PDP but he refused.
Lamido recalled that after the 2015 general elections, former President Muhammadu Buhari, President Bola Tinubu and ex‑Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola visited him in Dutse to persuade him to join the ruling APC.
“I told them I could not abandon the party that made me who I am,” Lamido said. “Instead, I challenged them to come and join the PDP.”
He also criticised Isa Ali Pantami, the former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, for previously describing the PDP as an “infidel party” and allegedly praying against it while serving as Chief Imam of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Jumu’ah Mosque.
According to Lamido, Pantami later joined the PDP after failing to secure the APC governorship ticket in Gombe State, a move that sparked widespread public debate.
Reflecting on the PDP’s years in power, Lamido noted that political opponents and some Islamic preachers repeatedly labelled the party corrupt and even called it an “infidel party.” Despite that, he remained loyal because the PDP gave him the opportunity to serve Nigeria as Minister of Foreign Affairs and twice as governor of Jigawa State.
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