The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje has led the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to former President Muhammadu Buhari at his residence in Kaduna State.
The visit came hours after ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, ex-Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai and other opposition leaders from the north met Buhari at his resident in Kaduna.
Atiku, El-Rufai, former governors, Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto, Gabriel Suswam of Benue, Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa and Achike Udenwa of Imo, among others visited Buhari at his residence.
The visit sparked rumour of of a possible northern gang-up against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the coming 2027 election as those present were mostly opposition leaders from the north.
Recall that Atiku, El-Rufai, had formed a coalition with the aim of removing President Bola Tinubu from power in 2027.
Atiku announced the formation of the coalition during a press conference by a group known as Concerned Leaders and Political Stakeholders in Nigeria.
Observers said the visit was likely to get Buhari, who is a member of the APC to support an opposition party member from the north against Tinubu as his government isn’t allegedly favouring the north especially in appointments, among others.
However, taking to his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku, a former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, described the meeting as a post-Sallah homage.
Atiku, who noted that he had earlier stayed in Adamawa for the Eid celebrations to represent the Lamido Fombina, referred to the visit with Buhari as heartwarming, emphasizing the former president’s trademark humour.
“As the Waziri Adamawa, I was obligated to be in Adamawa during the Sallah celebrations. I held forth for the Lamido Fombina (Adamawa) in some of the activities of the Sallah celebrations.
“Today, I had the opportunity to pay a post-Sallah visit to His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2015-2023. It was a wonderful time with him.
“As usual, he cracked me up (to the extent that my ribs were hurting) with his peculiar humour,” Atiku wrote.
Similarly, former FCT minister, El-Rufai, has downplayed speculations surrounding Friday’s high-profile visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari, clarifying that the meeting had no political undertones.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), El-Rufai dismissed any political motives behind the visit.
“We joined over faithful for Jumaat prayers at the Yahaya Road Mosque and had a sumptuous lunch at the Buhari Residence,” he wrote. “By the way, our adversaries should not lose any sleep. It is not about politics. It is about unity and brotherhood. And since we are all politically irrelevant, we just prayed and enjoyed lunch with our mentor.”
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