2027 Election: SDP's El-Rufai Under Fire, Details Emerge

• A former Jigawa state governor and PDP chieftain, Sule Lamido, has dismissed former Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai’s call for opposition leaders to join the SDP
• El-Rufai, who recently defected from the APC to SDP, had urged prominent politicians, including Lamido, Peter Obi, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to join him
• However, Lamido strongly criticised El-Rufai's invitation, questioning the former Kaduna governor’s stance

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics, elections, and governance in Nigeria.

Kaduna, Kaduna state - As Nigerians look forward to the 2027 election, Sule Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa state, has scolded ex-Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

As reported by The Nation on Sunday, March 16, 2025, Lamido criticised El-Rufai over the former All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain's call for opposition politicians to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

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Legit.ng recalls that El-Rufai, who recently announced his defection from the APC to SDP, urged those deemed opposition leaders like Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rauf Aregbesola, and Rotimi Amaechi, to join him in his new political movement.

However, Lamido, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in an interview with the BBC strongly rejected El-Rufai’s invitation, questioning his political ideology.

Lamido said:

“With all due respect, how does he expect us in PDP to leave and join another party? The PDP that we built is the same party that made him who he is today. How can a grandson claim his grandfather knows nothing?"

Lamido calls PDP his home

Furthermore, the former governor stressed that, despite PDP’s internal challenges, it remained his political home.

Lamido said:

“If PDP is struggling today, it is still the party that nurtured El-Rufai. If he claims the PDP is dead, then he must remember that it is the party that gave him his political foundation. Whatever he has achieved today, PDP made it possible.”

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Lamido argued that if he had any intention of leaving PDP, he would have done so in 2014 when APC was formed.

He said:

“If I didn’t join APC in 2014 when I was invited, and they left PDP out of anger, why are they now leaving APC? What has APC done to them?”

Maintaining that governance should not be driven by emotions or personal grudges, Lamido stressed that if the goal is to unseat President Bola Tinubu, it should not be based on personal grievances but on national interest.

“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.”

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.”

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2027 election: Source unveils El-Rufai’s plot against Tinubu, details emerge

Read more on El-Rufai:

• El-Rufai links arrest of top ally to defection from APC to SDP, shares details
• El-Rufai: “Why north is not interested in Buhari,” Atiku’s aide speaks
• Drama as Adebayo rules out El-Rufai’s coalition talks, declares 2027 presidential ambition under SDP

2027 election: Source shares El-Rufai's plan

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a source in the opposition privy to the ongoing developments confirmed that El-Rufai was not contesting any elective position in the 2027 election.

The source said El-Rufai was only focused on mobilising against President Tinubu's second-term agenda.

One prominent associate of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who contested the 2023 presidential election but lost to Tinubu, and now relating with El-Rufai divulged that what the ex-Kaduna governor is interested in is sending Tinubu and his people back to Lagos.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng