President Bola Tinubu and his opponent in the 2023 election former Vice President Abubakar, briefly suspended their rivalry on Friday, October 25, 2024.
The two old friends bumped into one another at the National Mosque in Abuja and set politics aside to exchange warm handshakes.
This was disclosed by the Special Adviser (Information and Strategy) to the President, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement.
Onanuga said Tinubu and Atiku met at the wedding of Senator Danjuma Goje‘s daughter and they both exchanged pleasantries.
“President Tinubu meets old friend Atiku Abubakar at the National Mosque. It was at the Jumat and the wedding of the daughter of Senator Danjuma Goje. Photo Taiwo Okanlawon,” Onanuga tweeted with photos.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Abdullahi Ganduje, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, and Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume were among the dignitaries who also graced the event.
Atiku and Tinubu’s rivalry
The former Vice President, who flew the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) banner lost to the former Lagos State Governor, who ran on the APC platform in the hotly contested election last year.
Atiku contested the outcome of the election from the tribunal up to the Supreme Court, alleging that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rigged the exercise in favour of his APC rival.
However, the Supreme Court upheld the Appeal Court’s decision, dismissing the PDP candidate’s case for lacking merit.
Since then, the former Vice President has been highly critical of the Tinubu government.
He has faulted the administration’s reform policies, especially the removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira, which he claimed were not properly thought through.
This is hardly the first chance meeting between the two former political allies in recent times. In the build-up to the 2023 election, Tinubu and Atiku met at the airport twice as they both went about their campaigns.
