10th September, 2022
Senate President Ahmad Lawan held separate closed-door meetings with former Nigerian leaders, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida, on Saturday.
Lawan arrived in Minna at about 1.30 pm and first visited the residence of Abdulsalam before he went to that of Babangida.
His meeting with Abdulsalami took about 40 minutes, while that with Babangida took about 30 minutes.
Speaking to Journalists after he met with Abdulsalami, the Senate President said that the two leaders have a lot of roles to play in ensuring the unity and peaceful co-existence of Nigerians.
Lawan, who was accompanied by the Senator representing Niger East Senatorial District, Sen. Sani Musa, said that he was in Minna on a sympathy visit to the former Head of State who was recuperating from an illness.
He added, ”as an elder statesman, it is necessary that the visit is made especially with the contributions Abdulsalami has made to the country.
“As our leader and elder statesman, we felt that it is 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.
”This is to enable them to continue with their good work of ensuring that Nigeria remains united and Nigerians live peacefully amongst themselves.”
Lawan, however, declined questions fielded on politics and the 2023 elections.
He insisted that ”he was only in the state for a private visit and not a political visit.”