Jonathan, Mark, Others’ Meeting Private

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said the meeting between former president Goodluck Jonathan and leaders of African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by the national chairman, Senator David Mark, was private.

The national publicity secretary of ADC, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, when asked by LEADERSHIP Weekend about the nature of the meeting, said, “It was a private meeting. We were not privy to their conversation.”

However, a source at the meeting said the meeting was not heavy on politics but was convivial.

“It was just a visit. Not much of politics yet. But the atmosphere was very convivial,” the source, who was not authorised to speak, told LEADERSHIP Weekend.

Mark and former secretary to the federal government, Babachir Lawal held a closed-door meeting with Jonathan on Thursday night in Abuja.

Besides Mark and Lawal, the ADC spokesman, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, was sighted at the meeting in a video on social media.

The meeting came barely a day after the former president, during a requiem mass in honour of the late former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, declared that he bears no grudges against those who offended him politically.

Checks reveal that some of the members in the ADC had worked against Jonathan’s 2015 second term ambition.

However, the meeting with Jonathan came shortly after an earlier meeting of ADC leaders was headed by Mark. Also at gathering was the party’s national secretary, Ogbeni Rauf; national publicity secretary of ADC, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai; former Rivers governor, Chibuike Amaechi.

Others are former Sokoto State governor, Senator Aminu Tambuwal; former Kwara governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed; former minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Ali Pantami; former secretary to government of the federation, Babachir Lawal, among others.

Labour Party former presidential candidate Peter Obi was absent but sent apologises and gave his commitment.

At the meeting Presidential hopefuls in the opposition coalition party ADC agreed to back whoever emerges as the candidate of the party ahead of the 2027 election.

They also foreclosed the adoption of All Democratic Alliance (ADA) by the party leaders and ordered all members to resign membership of other political parties even though no timeline was given to them.

So far, Atiku, Obi and Amaechi have indicated interest to contest for the party’s presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 election.