Tinubu, Akande ‘sneak out’ of Aso Rock after meeting Buhari

Bola Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC), and Bisi Akande, former interim chairman of the ruling party, sneaked out the presidential villa in Abuja at the end of a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.

Both leaders, who arrived at the presidential villa around 3:50pm, left Buhari’s official residence, where the meeting held, at 4:50pm.

State house correspondents were not given access to the APC leaders.

It is unclear if the meeting was about Buhari’s reelection. Akande and Tinubu were absent when Buhari hosted APC stakeholders in Aso Rock last week.

Both men were instrumental to the emergence of Buhari in 2015, as the president secured enough votes in the south-west which was a stumbling block in his previous attempts.

Although the president has not made a public declaration about 2019, he has been holding meetings with top APC members and his supporters.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advised Buhari not to run in 2019.

In a strongly-worded letter, the elder statesman accused Buhari of living below expectation. He said Buhari’s government had reached its limit and asking more from it is like telling someone to give what he does not have.

Meanwhile, the presidency is yet to react to Obasanjo’s stunning statement.

When contacted, Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, said: “We won’t react for now.”