Senate President, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, on Saturday, held closed-door meetings with former Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar and former military president, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida separately at their uphill residences in Minna, Niger State.
The Senate President was said to have arrived in Minna at about 1.30 pm and first paid a visit to the Uphill residence of General Abdulsalami Abubakar after which he also went to pay a courtesy visit to former military president, General Babangida at his Uphill Mansion nearby.
His meeting with Abubakar was also said to have taken place about 40 minutes after his arrival in Minna. The meeting with Babangida took about 30 minutes.
Speaking to journalists after he had met with Gen Abubakar, the Senate President noted that the two former leaders had a role to play in ensuring the unity and peaceful co-existence of citizens of Nigeria.
Senator Lawan who was accompanied by the Senator representing Niger East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Abuja Senator Sani Musa, explained that he was in Minna on a sympathy visit to Gen Abubakar, who is still recuperating from a recent medical visit abroad.
He added that as an elder statesman, the visit was necessary, especially with the contributions that Abdulsalami Abubakar had made to the country.
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“As our leader and elder statesman, we felt that it was necessary that we make this visit today to come and sympathize with him and his family.
“We are grateful to God for the lives of our fathers and we pray that they recover completely so that they will be able to continue with their good work of ensuring that Nigeria remains united and Nigerians live peacefully amongst themselves,” said Senator Ahmad Lawan.
Senator Lawan, a former presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), however, declined to answer questions put to him about the ongoing transition period with regard to politics and the forthcoming 2023 general polls in the country. He insisted that he was only in the state for a private visit and not for a political visit.