A closed-door meeting took place between former Kano State Governor and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and President Bola Tinubu at the President’s official residence in Abuja on Monday. The meeting occurred after Kwankwaso attended the Nigeria Forest Economy Summit 2025 at the State House Conference Centre.

This encounter marks the second known meeting between the two leaders in just over two years. Their first meeting was on June 9, 2023, shortly after Tinubu’s inauguration, where Kwankwaso became the first 2023 presidential candidate to visit the President. During that visit, Kwankwaso mentioned discussing politics and governance with Tinubu, hinting at potential collaboration without providing specifics.

The details of Monday’s meeting remain undisclosed, as it was held privately at the President’s residence with most aides reportedly excluded. Sources from the Presidency contacted for this report were unable to confirm the agenda of the discussion.

The meeting comes weeks after the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) announced a broad-based coalition aimed at challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections. Although the NNPP, led by Kwankwaso, is not formally part of the ADC-led coalition, opposition figures have actively courted the 67-year-old northern political heavyweight as they seek to unify disparate parties for the upcoming presidential race.

Kwankwaso, a veteran politician and founder of the influential “Kwankwasiyya” movement, has a significant political background. He served two non-consecutive terms as Kano State governor and was defence minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo. In the 2023 presidential election, he ran on the NNPP ticket, securing a decisive victory in Kano, Nigeria’s most populous northern state.

The timing of the meeting has sparked speculation about potential political realignments, though no official statements have clarified the purpose or outcome of the talks.