Those in the
know said the meeting was tactically moved to the remote town at the instance
of Mr. Jonathan to avoid the prying eyes of reporters in Abeokuta, where Mr.
Obasanjo usually receives guests at his Hilltop residence.
Our sources
said Mr. Obasanjo took Mr. Jonathan around the village, introducing him to
community leaders.
“After
taking him about, they returned to Baba’s house in Ibogun-Olaogun and ate good
meal together,” a source said.
Before both
men went behind closed-doors for a meeting, Mr. Turaki told Mr. Obasanjo that
Mr. Jonathan had visited former Nigerian leaders, including Abdulsalami
Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida in the recent past and had planned to visit Mr.
Obasanjo during the Yuletide.
“He said
since he was unable to make it to Baba’s place around Christmas period, he had
to find time to do so before January ends,” Mr. Turaki reportedly said as Mr.
Jonathan smiled. “He believes it’s better late than never.”
It is not
exactly clear what both men discussed during their closed-door meeting.
The two
leaders did not answer or return calls made to them.
But an aide
to Mr. Jonathan said the former president sought to restore normalcy with Mr.
Obasanjo.
“He told
Baba that whatever had passed should be left in the past because the future
holds even bigger promises for the two of them,” an aide said.
PREMIUM
TIMES learnt that the meeting ended around 4:00 p.m.
Mr.
Jonathan’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, could not be reached for comments. Mr.
Obasanjo has no official spokesperson.
Today’s
development is the first time the two former leaders would be locked in a
closed-door discussion since Mr. Jonathan left office in May 2015.
Culled from:
Premium Times
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