Tinubu, Atiku meet in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar met on Friday in Abuja for the wedding ceremony of the daughter of Gombe Central Senator Danjuma Goje.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and his Deputy, Barau Jibrin; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajuddeen Abbas; National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Abdullahi Ganduje; governors, ministers and traditional rulers were also among dignitaries at the ceremony held at the National Mosque, Abuja, after the Juma’at prayers.

The senator’s daughter, Fauziyya Danjuma-Goje, and her husband, Aliyu Abubakar, were, thereafter, joined together as a couple.

This may be the first time Messrs Tinubu and Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, are meeting physically after the February 2023 general elections.

Atiku lost the presidential election to Mr Tinubu. He, however, challenged the outcome in court but lost both at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, and the Supreme Court.

The former PDP candidate has continuously criticised the economic policies of the Tinubu administration, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira.

He also slammed Mr Tinubu for the reversal to the old national anthem.

Recently, Atiku referred to the president as “T-Pain”, a derogatory name some Nigerians labelled the president due to the increasing hardship in the country.

But, at the wedding ceremony today, President Tinubu and Atiku exchanged pleasantries and sat close to each other despite their political differences.

Mr Goje, a former Gombe governor and ex-minister of state for power and steel, appreciated President Tinubu and other dignitaries for attending his daughter’s wedding ceremony.

The senator has been representing Gombe Central Senatorial District since 2011. He is also among the founding members of the APC.

Governors in attendance

Some of the governors who attended the ceremony include Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Mala Buni (Yobe), Dikko Radda (Katsina), Uba Sani (Kaduna), and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi).

Former governors in attendance are, Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Nasiru El-Rufai (Kaduna), Ali Modu Sheriff (Borno) and Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa), who is also the immediate past national chairman of the APC.

The president’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, were also present at the event.