Political permutations intensified following Monday’s separate meetings between Peter Obi and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, and former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido in Abuja.
Atiku shared this meeting update through a post on his official social media handle.
“It was my honour and privilege to host @PeterObi today. -AA,” Atiku wrote.
The meeting between the two politicians was the first since last year’s presidential election. Obi was Atiku’s running mate in the 2019 presidential polls.
Peter Obi was a member of Atiku’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) until 2022 before he left to join the Labour Party to realise his presidential ambition. Political experts say they would have defeated the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) if they had joined forces before last year’s elections.
The spokesperson of Obi’s Presidential Campaign Organisation, Yunusa Tanko, confirmed the closed-door meeting and stressed that it was centred on rescuing the ‘soul of Nigeria’ from the clutches of the ruling APC.
“I am not privy to their meetings. But what you are seeing are some of the long discussions we have had a long time ago. It is part of the discussions and efforts to battle for the soul of Nigeria.
“It is not surprising that Obi met some of his political allies to discuss the country’s situation. That is the little I can say for now,” he added.
The meeting has also triggered speculation that the former Anambra State Governor may return to the PDP to gain a wider launchpad for this presidential ambition, but there is still the contentious issue of who will yield if the former Vice President still has his sights set on Aso Rock.
In addition to meeting with Atiku Abubakar, Obi also visited Sule Lamido, the former governor of Jigawa, at his residence in Abuja.
Lamido served as the governor of Jigawa state from 2007 to 2015. Prior to that, he was Nigeria’s Foreign Minister from 1999 to 2003 and ran for president on the PDP platform in 2018, losing the nomination to Atiku Abubakar.