Gov. Sule and Atiku Abubakar Reportedly Meet in Saudi Arabia to Strategize Against Tinubu

Information on an alleged meeting between former vice president Atiku Abubakar and governor of Nasarawa State Abdullahi Sule in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during the recent smaller hajj (Umrah) has surfaced.

The meeting allegedly happened on March 11, 2026, at the Conrad Jabal Omar Hotel in Mecca at an iftar supper during the holy month of Ramadan, according to a report published in Peoples Gazette.

According to the report’s sources, the discussion covered political trends leading up to the 2027 presidential election and lasted almost two hours.

According to the report, the conference focused on potential political cooperation to remove President Bola Tinubu from office in the 2027 election.

Atiku, who left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in 2025, is reportedly thinking about running for president again.

According to sources cited in the report, Governor Sule promised to assist Atiku in gaining votes in Nasarawa State and endorsed his ambition.

In advance of his potential 2027 candidacy for the Nasarawa North senatorial seat, one source claimed that the governor was also looking for political guarantees.

Sule may be carefully placing himself inside Nigeria’s evolving political scene, according to a source acquainted with the purported encounter.

Atiku Abubakar and Governor Abdullahi Sule had a meeting in Saudi Arabia a few weeks ago. According to the source, he met with Atiku for two hours on March 11, 2026, at the Conrad Jabal Omar Hotel in Makka.

The potential of moving the president back to northern Nigeria in 2027 was also discussed, according to the source.

According to the article, an unidentified official in the Tinubu camp expressed worry that if Atiku becomes the opposition’s presidential nominee, some lawmakers from the ruling party, especially those from the northern area, would defect.

According to the official, the incident had sparked concerns that some MPs and governors would turn against the president before the next election.

When questioned about the purported encounter, Paul Ibe, Atiku’s media assistant, did not affirm or refute its existence.

“I can only tell you what I am aware of. There isn’t a meeting like that that I know of. “His Excellency Atiku Abubakar traveled for the lesser hajj and returned to the country on Saturday,” Ibe stated on the aforementioned platform.

In a same vein, Governor Sule’s chief press secretary, Ibrahim Addra, claimed not to be aware of the meeting.

He did, however, acknowledge that the governor visited Saudi Arabia during that time to perform the lesser hajj.

“I know the governor attended the lesser hajj, but I don’t know about the meeting,” he remarked.

According to checks mentioned in the article, Sule and Atiku were in Mecca over the same time frame in February and March of 2026.

Sule reportedly met with a number of political associates during his visit, including Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, the representative for Nasarawa South.

According to the story, Atiku also met former President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife, Aisha Buhari, while performing Umrah.