On Friday, afternoon, President Bola Tinubu held an in-person meeting with his political rival and close challenger from the 2023 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, generating considerable interest among congregants at the National Mosque in Abuja.
This meeting marked the first face-to-face interaction between the two political figures in approximately 20 months following the 2023 elections.
They both attended the Juma’at congressional prayer and subsequently participated in the wedding Fatiha of a daughter of former Gombe State Governor and Senator representing Gombe Central, Danjuma Goje, at the mosque.
It is noteworthy that before the 2023 presidential election, candidates from various political parties competing for Nigeria’s presidency convened at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja on February 22, 2023, to sign the Peace Accord organized by the National Peace Committee (NPC).
Among those in attendance were presidential candidates Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC), and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Former President Muhammadu Buhari, Sultan of Sokoto Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, as well as former Heads of State Generals Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalami Abubakar were present.
Since the conclusion of the 2023 elections, which resulted in victory for Tinubu and subsequent legal challenges from Atiku and Obi, this Friday’s meeting represents the first direct engagement between the two politicians. During this period, Atiku has consistently criticized the policies of the Tinubu administration since he assumed office on May 29, 2023.
Further photographic documentation can be viewed below.
