There are indications that President Muhammadu Buhari and his main challenger in the 2019 presidential election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), may have settled their differences.
A reliable source told Interview Confidential that Buhari commiserated with Atiku after the death his confidant and political associate, Umar Pariya.
“After the conversation,” the source said, “the talk around Buhari was that after Atiku’s loss at the Supreme Court, the former vice president no longer posed any risk.
Don’t be surprised if you hear of a de-escalation of the hostilities towards the vice president, including possibly, the EFCC allowing the case against his in-law Abdullahi Babalele, to gradually fade away.”
The source also added that Atiku’s name has featured prominently in discussions among the elite in the North East about preparations for 2023.
How Saraki link sealed Melaye’s fate
Even as Senator Dino Melaye had his back to the wall in the Kogi West Senatorial election, he had as many powerful enemies in his constituency and in Kogi as he had in the Senate in Abuja.
Interview Confidential learnt that ranking members of the ninth Senate made it their singular business to ensure that the drama king of the red chamber did not return.
Melaye’s strong link to former Senate president, Bukola Saraki, appears to have been his greatest undoing.
Our source said, “The new leadership of the Senate took serious interest in the Kogi West rerun because they were concerned that if Melaye returns, he would be Saraki’s fly on the wall.
They will have no secret. You know how close Dino is to Saraki; with Dino there, there is nothing they will plan in the Senate that Saraki will not get to hear even before they lift a finger.
It’s not that they like Smart Adeyemi very much; it’s just that they cannot stand Dino for another three years! So, they mobilised to stop him from coming back at all costs!”
