What was meant to be secret meetings between President Goodluck Jonathan on one hand, and four Northern pro-Amaechi governors on the other hand, both with former President Olusegun Obasanjo at his Abeokuta mansion turned dramatic as both groups almost ran into each other.
President Jonathan had planned to visit his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati who had just concluded the burial ceremony of his late mother on Friday in the Ogun State capital.
He had arrived Lagos on Friday for the commissioning of a 200-unit Idimu Police Housing Estate named after him, had flown to Lome, Togo for a meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders before returning to Lagos same day for meetings with unnamed groups and to pass the night.
President Jonathan, who described himself as Obasanjo’s son, said it would be disrespectful to visit the Abati’s family over the death of their mother without paying homage to the former president whose house is close by.
He said: “Less than 10 minutes’ drive to Abati’s family house” would not cost him anything to spare for Obasanjo.
“It is true we saw President Obasanjo in his house because we came here to Abeokuta to commiserate with Abati who buried his mother yesterday. And knowing that Abati’s house is at the backyard of Obasanjo’s house, it will not be good if we come and not visit him.
“Even the man himself will not be happy if we don’t visit him. I am like a son to Obasanjo,” he said.
The two met behind closed doors for about an hour, against the background of media reports of a spat between the two ahead of the 2015 presidential election.
There have also been reports of efforts by the Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party Governors’ Forum (PDPGF) and Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio, to resolve any misunderstanding between Jonathan and Obasanjo before the polls.
Obasanjo had in May similarly visited the President in his Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Villa during the Special Summit of African Heads of State and Government and 50th Anniversary Celebration of the African Union (AU).
President Jonathan however denied to have visited the former President based on political moves in preparation for the 2015.
However, a mild drama played out at the presidential Hilltop in Abeokuta during President Jonathan’s secret meeting with Obasanjo.
Jonathan, who touched down at the place few minutes to 12 noon had hardly left when four pro-Amaechi governors from the North emerged from nowhere.
The former president also outsmarted ambushing journalists by escaping through a seldom used gate at exactly 1.30 p.m.
The four Northern governors – Muritala Nyako (Adamawa State), Musa Kwakwanso (Kano State), Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto State) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa State) – disclosed that they visited and held secret meeting on “very important matters.”
Although, President Jonathan arrived Obasanjo’s Hilltop Mansion at about 11:52 a.m. and left at about 1:28 p.m. heading for Abati’s house, it was however dramatic when the four Northern governors who drove in barely one minute the president drove out, apparently playing a high level hide-and-seek political game with their overall boss, Jonathan.
This, however, left signs and indications that all was not well and that the political popularity test between the Pro-Jonathan and Pro-Amaechi factions was largely widened.
The topic of their discussions was nevertheless unknown as journalists were barred from getting access to the venue of the secret meeting, but information gathered by our correspondent revealed that the governors had even arrived before President Jonathan’s departure but avoided him, waiting for him to leave before entering Obasanjo’s residence.
But speaking briskly with journalists while driving off, the governors said they had come to visit Obasanjo for “political consultations”, saying, “Obasanjo is the most accomplished Nigerian ever and will remain so for a very long time, and we have come to consult him on very important matters.”
The visits, however, appeared support-seeking in nature, apparently in preparation for the 2015 general elections, where the president and other four Northern governors, though came at different times, reported to have come to table their requests before the former president and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), whom they believed might be one of the PDP major king-makers in the race for 2015 presidential race.