2015: Mbeki, Abdulsalami meet Buhari

L-R: A former Nigerian Head of State, Gen. Abubakar Abdulsalam; a former South African President, Thabo Mbeki; the All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), During Mbeki’s visit to Buhari in Kaduna... on Monday.
| credits: NAN

A former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, and a former Nigerian military Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, were in Kaduna on Monday to confer with the All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate, Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), ahead of the rescheduled March 28 presidential election.

After the closed-door meeting held at the Jabi Road office of the Katsina-born General, neither the visitors nor the APC presidential candidate uttered spoke to journalists that besieged the venue.

After the meeting that lasted for over one hour, Mbeki and Abubakar left for the Kaduna International Airport to catch a flight back to Abuja. Abubakar is also the Chairman of the Peace Accord signed by the two leading presidential candidates, President Goodluck Jonathan and Buhari.

This was after a photo session signalling the end of the meeting. The meeting started at about 10am and ended some minutes after 11am on Monday.

Though there was no official statement as to what transpired during the meeting, a source confided in one of our correspondents in Kaduna that the meeting was connected with the March 28, rescheduled presidential election.

The source noted that the handlers of the President had realised that they could no longer turn Nigerians against Buhari; hence, the need to prevail on the APC presidential candidate not to probe Jonathan should he (Buhari) emerge the winner of the forthcoming election.

President Jonathan had on Sunday met behind closed-doors with Abubakar and Mbeki.

The meeting was held inside the President’s official residence at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

None of them spoke to journalists at the end of the parley.

The meeting, however, was not unconnected with preparations for the forthcoming general elections slated for March 28 and April 11.

The former military leader had, on Saturday,met with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, over the elections.