ABUJA, Nigeria – Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa State, has cautioned that Nasir el-Rufai’s call to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections should be driven by national interest rather than personal grievances.
Lamido’s remarks come after el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on 10 March, citing a divergence in values with the ruling party.
El-Rufai has since urged opposition leaders, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), to join the SDP in a bid to challenge Tinubu’s presidency.
However, Lamido, in an interview with BBC Hausa on Sunday, March 16, 2025, emphasised that leadership should prioritise the nation’s welfare over personal emotions.
“Leadership is about patience, foresight, and working for the peace of the people and the nation. If you allow emotions to dictate your decisions, you will never lead objectively,” Lamido said.
“If El-Rufai’s goal is to unseat President Bola Tinubu, it should not be based on personal grievances but on national interest,” he added.
“We should not fight Tinubu just because we are angry at him or seeking revenge. Leadership should be about prioritising the country’s well-being rather than personal emotions.”
Lamido also addressed el-Rufai’s past comments, noting that the former Kaduna governor once claimed there were no political elders in northern Nigeria.
He further criticised el-Rufai for overlooking the role of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in his political career.
“The party we formed, the PDP, is the one that gave birth to El-Rufai,” Lamido said. “You’re not enough to make us leave the PDP. He once said that there are no elders in northern Nigerian politics, but now he is calling on us to join him in the SDP.”
Lamido also highlighted el-Rufai’s shifting stance on his political influence, recalling that the former governor had previously informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his decision to leave the APC.
“He said he told President Buhari about his decision to leave the APC, but now he is saying that he is one of the elders in Nigerian politics,” Lamido remarked.
The former Jigawa governor reaffirmed his loyalty to the PDP, stating that if he had any intention of leaving the party, he would have done so during the formation of the APC in 2014.
“If I was going to leave the PDP, I would have done so in 2014 when the APC was formed,” he said.
