Eyebrows were raised in the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock yesterday when a former military Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar (rtd.), led the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to a closed-door meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan.
According to Punch, the minister arrived the Villa for the meeting about three minutes after Abubakar made his way into the President’s office.
Last week, photos of the minister during a visit to the former military leader’s Minna residence went viral on the internet recently with many people insinuating that she must be reaching out to Abubakar to avoid probe by the incoming administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd).
When journalists at the villa asked him for the purpose of his visit, Abubakar said it was in continuation of his job as the chairman of the National Peace Committee for the 2015 General Elections.
"As the chairman of the peace committee, there is always interaction between the incoming president and President Jonathan, in order to ensure that the peace we have been able to get is sustained.
“So naturally, I am here to touch base with him and also to give him a report of what the committee has been doing,” he said.
When asked about his recent meeting with the minister and the fact that they entered the President’s office almost the same time, Abubakar said he had met many times with Alison-Madueke and other ministers, wondering why the latest meeting became an issue.
He said, “I think people are just trying to be mischievous, I have been meeting with a lot of people and a lot of ministers in the course of this transition. So there is nothing strange in me meeting with anybody.
“I wonder if you go through your records to see the number of meetings I have been engaging in. I don’t know why the last one will be a subject of media chat.
“This is not the first time I have been meeting her (Alison-Madueke) and a number of ministers, so I don’t see what the whole hullabaloo is all about. People are just being mischievous,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, $16million out of the $20billion allegedly stolen from the coffers of the Nigeria National Petroleum by the management of the corporation have reportedly been refunded by the management of one of the top banks in Nigeria due to fear of prosecution by the incoming government.
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