Jonathan, Babangida Meet Privately in Minna

Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday held a closed door meeting with former military President, Ibrahim Babangida, at his uphill residence in Minna, the Niger State capital,

Jonathan, according to a source, arrived at Minna about 10 a.m. in a GMC bullet proof SUV with registration number ABJ 961ER.

He was said to have been accompanied by former Senator Nimi Barigha Amange who had represented Bayelsa East in the National Assembly.

It was learnt that there were eight other vehicles on the convoy and that the former president came to Minna by road.

According to a source close to Babangida residence, Jonathan, immediately after arriving the IBB residence, entered into a closed door meeting with the former military president.

"Only former President Jonathan and Babangida were in the meeting," the source told the media, adding that "even Senator Amange waited in another part of the residence."

The meeting between the duo, which started a few minutes after 10 a.m. did not end until about 12.14p.m. it was also gathered.

On his way out, Jonathan declined to speak to journalists, describing his visit as "private."

When pressed further for comments, the former president said he had not seen Babangida since he returned from medical vacation and felt it was the right time to do so.

He commended the media for "doing a nice job, you people are doing well."

Asked to comment on the prevailing political situation in the country, Jonathan replied: "We are retired politicians," and drove off in the same car he had come.

Political observers however believed that the two-hour meeting between the duo went beyond mere greetings and could have centred on the December 2017 National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Both former president Jonathan and Babangida are major stakeholders in the PDP project.

This was because several of the chairmanship aspirant among them, Gbenga Daniel, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi and Professor Tunde Adeniran had recently called on Babangida to solicit his support for the realisation of their chairmanship ambitions.