Pat Stevens/
A political row has erupted over the high-profile meeting in Minna between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, after former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, threatened to release further details of what he claimed transpired behind closed doors.
Atiku and Makinde were among prominent political figures who visited former military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida at his residence in Minna, Niger State.
The visit drew national attention amid speculation about early alignments ahead of the 2027 general election.
Fayose alleged that the Minna engagement went beyond a courtesy call and involved political negotiations.
In a post on X, he said he was “amused” by a rebuttal issued from Atiku’s camp in response to his earlier comments on the meeting.
“I saw the response of one Paul Ibe, one of the Media Aides to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to my release on what transpired at his meeting in Minna, with Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and I can’t but be amused,” Fayose wrote.
He suggested that Atiku might not have authorised the statement and gave the former vice president a 48-hour ultimatum to publicly disown it.
“However, because of my respect for Atiku, I will want to assume that he did not authorise the press statement and I will expect that after seeing it, he will within 48 hours, cause a rebuttal to be issued on it,” he said.
Fayose added: “Should Atiku not publicly disown the statement within the next 48 hours, I will have no option but to spill more beans, the facilitators and executioners of the Minna meeting, particularly what was said about Wike, and by then, I will be doing so without any atom of respect for him. Till then, we keep our gunpowder dry.”
In his earlier remarks, Fayose had claimed that discussions in Minna included alleged talks about Makinde emerging as Atiku’s running mate under the African Democratic Congress, ADC, platform in 2027.
He also alluded to financial and structural commitments, claims which Atiku’s camp has firmly denied.
The rebuttal to Fayose’s claims was issued by Ambassador Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku, who dismissed the allegations as false and described them as “beer parlour tales of infamy”.
Shaibu insisted that no negotiations over vice-presidential tickets or financial commitments took place in Minna.
Following Fayose’s latest post, Paul Ibe, another media aide to Atiku, responded directly, correcting what he described as a misattribution.
“I am not disappointed with one Peter Ayodele Fayose for his inability to make a distinction between Ambassador Phrank Shaibu and my humble self, Paul Ibe,” Ibe said.
He added that the statement titled ‘Peter Ayodele Fayose’s Beer Parlour Tales Of Infamy’ was authored by Shaibu and not by him.
In a sharply worded response, Ibe mocked Fayose’s ultimatum. “Haba, is 48 hours not too long?” he asked, before making further personal jibes questioning Fayose’s judgement.
The Minna visit has assumed significance because it brought together two influential opposition figures at a time when political realignments are widely anticipated ahead of 2027.
Atiku has been associated with coalition talks following the 2023 election, while Makinde remains one of the most prominent PDP governors and was a key member of the G5 bloc that opposed Atiku’s candidacy during the last presidential cycle.
Fayose’s reference to what was allegedly said about Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and a former G5 figure, suggests lingering rivalries and unresolved tensions within opposition ranks.
Neither Atiku nor Makinde has publicly confirmed the substance of the Minna discussions beyond describing the visit as political consultations.
As of the time of filing this report, Atiku had not issued any fresh statement in response to Fayose’s 48-hour demand.
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