Posted by From Josephine Lohor in Abuja on
The frosty relationship between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday caught the attention of three of Nigeria's former leaders who held separate meetings with the two at the State House.
The frosty relationship between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday caught the attention of three of Nigeria's former leaders who held separate meetings with the two at the State House.
Former President Shehu Shagari, as well as Heads of State Chief Ernest Shonekan and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, seized the opportunity offered by the shift in time of the Council of State meeting from 9am to 2pm to separately meet with Obasanjo and Atiku.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media Matters, Mrs. Oluremi Oyo, said the former leaders were able to establish that both Obasanjo and Atiku still had a relationship going on.
She said that 'at the end of the meetings, the assessment of the Heads of State was that an understanding still exists between the President and the Vice President".
Oyo also noted that ‘Nigeria's former Heads of state Thursday in Abuja held separate meetings with President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
'The Heads of State were represented at the meetings by President Shehu Shagari, Chief Ernest Shonekan and General Abdulsalami Abubakar."
The face-off between Obasanjo and Atiku became a subject of public controversy when the Vice President in a recent interview with THISDAY said the President swore he had no plan to extend his tenure beyond 2007.
In a television programme, however, Obasanjo accused Atiku of misrepresentation and mispresentation of facts as well as disloyalty.
In apparent reply Atiku said loyalty should be critical and not blind, even as he took plot shots at the President, the administration and the party at different fora.