Lamido Slams Pantami for Calling PDP an ‘Infidel Party’

Former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, has taken a swipe at former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, by recalling his past description of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as an “infidel party.”

Lamido made the remarks while receiving PDP governorship candidates from Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Yobe and Jigawa States at his residence in Bamaina, Jigawa State.

Addressing the gathering, the former governor said the PDP endured years of criticism while in power, with some political opponents and Islamic preachers branding the party as corrupt and referring to it as an “infidel party.”

Lamido said despite the attacks, he remained loyal to the PDP even after leaving office. According to him, following the 2015 general elections, leading APC figures, including former President Muhammadu Buhari, President Bola Tinubu, former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola and others, visited him in Dutse to persuade him to join the APC.

He said he rejected the offer, insisting he could not abandon the party that made him Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and twice elected him Governor of Jigawa State. Lamido added that instead of joining the APC, he challenged them to defect to the PDP.

The former governor also recalled that Pantami, while serving as Chief Imam of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Jumu’ah Mosque, delivered sermons in which he prayed against the PDP, describing it as an “infidel party.”

Pantami later joined the PDP after failing to secure the APC governorship ticket in Gombe State, a political move that sparked widespread reactions and debate across social media.

The comments come as political activities begin to gather pace ahead of the 2027 general elections, with defections and shifting political alliances once again dominating national discourse.