2019: Obasanjo Meets Atiku, Begins Strategy To Defeat Buhari

Sources close to the meeting told The Punch that the meeting was based on the strategies that would enable Atiku and the PDP emerge winners in the general elections.

It was also gathered that the meeting reviewed the ongoing zonal campaigns of the party, which was said to be a precursor for the state-by-state campaign that would follow.

Obasanjo used the opportunity of the meeting to settle the rift between Atiku and a former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako (retd.).

Nyako, who is a former Chief of Naval Staff, was a member of the PDP before he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

However, instead of returning to the PDP like Atiku after their disagreements with the national leadership of the ruling party, Nyako and his son, Senator Abdul-Aziz Nyako, joined the Obasanjo-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The former president was said to have been worried about the cacophony of voices from the home state of Atiku in particular about his presidential ambition and decided to step in and settle the rifts.

Apart from Nyako, it was also learnt that Obasanjo intervened in the alleged misunderstanding between Atiku and his former aide while serving as the Vice President, Dr Umar Ardo.

A source privy to the meeting said, “It was a family and an elaborate meeting. Baba (Obasanjo) is a fantastic leader. I have never seen such a man who combines energy with intellect and political sagacity.

“He spoke at length to everyone, including the Waziri (Atiku) and others that were there.