Details have emerged on Governor Abdullahi Sule’s secret meeting with former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to unseat President Bola Tinubu and ensure Mr Abubakar’s emergence as president in 2027.

Peoples Gazette exclusively learnt that Mr Sule, the Nasarawa governor and a stalwart of the ruling All Progressives Congress, met with Mr Abubakar at the Conrad Jabal Omar Hotel in Mecca on March 11, 2026, during the lesser hajj. The closed-door meeting, which lasted about two hours, was held during iftar (the evening meal Muslims eat after the sun has gone down during Ramadan).

Mr Abubakar, a former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party and estranged ally of Mr Tinubu, joined the new opposition party, African Democratic Congress, in 2025 to unseat the incumbent president, who is seeking a second term.

Mr Sule, who had previously ruled out vying for political office once he completes his second term as governor, recently revealed that he was considering running for the Nasarawa North senatorial seat in 2027.

The Gazette learnt that Mr Sule’s face-to-face endorsement of Mr Abubakar’s presidential bid aimed to secure a position for himself should the latter win the presidency.

One source familiar with the development said the Nasarawa governor was “putting his eggs in more than one basket”. The source also noted that, during the meeting, Mr Sule revealed his interest in the presidency to return to the North.

“Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa met with Atiku Abubakar in Saudi Arabia weeks ago. He had a two-hour meeting with Atiku at Conrad Jabal Omar Hotel in Makka on Wednesday, 11th of March, 2026. The meeting was held at night during iftar,” a source familiar with the details of the meeting held in Saudi Arabia told The Gazette on Thursday.

It was gathered that Mr Abubakar promised Mr Sule the support of his ardent followers in Nasarawa to ensure his emergence as the senator representing Nasarawa North. The governor was also promised juicy appointments to senatorial committees.

“(During the meeting, Mr Sule) pledged to ensure that Atiku wins Nasarawa in the 2027 presidential election. They agreed on returning power to the north,” one of the sources stated.

It was unclear how much the governor promised to funnel to Mr Abubakar’s campaign, but there were recent insider claims that the opposition leader had gone broke, especially after running four unsuccessful presidential campaigns since 2007.

His personal businesses, most notably logistics giant Intels, were targeted by the Buhari administration, further depleting his fortunes and crippling his ability to mount an ardent challenge to the ruling party candidate in Mr Tinubu.

It was not immediately clear how many ruling party governors are secretly looking to sabotage Mr Tinubu’s reelection in favour of Mr Abubakar, but Mr Sule’s case mirrored similar tactics seen as recently as 2015, when ruling party allies of then-incumbent Goodluck Jonathan deployed resources to help opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari.

A source close to the Tinubu camp said concerns have soared recently that some ruling party governors and senators, almost exclusively from northern Nigeria, might abandon the president at the last minute should Mr Abubakar get the main opposition ADC’s ticket.

“It’s been our concern lately that some of our party’s governors and senators might betray the president if Atiku Abubakar becomes the candidate of the ADC,” an administration official said under anonymity Thursday night. “We don’t yet know what to do about this dilemma, and I will be lying to you if I say we can ever successfully prevent it.”

When contacted by The Gazette about the meeting, Mr Abubakar’s camp neither denied nor confirmed that it took place.

“I can only confirm to you what I know. I’m not aware of a meeting of that nature. What I can confirm to you is that indeed, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar travelled for the lesser hajj; and he returned to the country on Saturday; that much I can tell you,” Paul Ibe, Mr Abubakar’s media aide, told The Gazette on Thursday.

Mr Sule’s team neither denied nor confirmed that the meeting was held. However, Ibrahim Addra, chief press secretary to the Nasarawa governor, confirmed to The Gazette that his principal travelled for the lesser hajj at the time.

“I’m not aware of the meeting,” Mr Addra said. “But I know that the governor attended the lesser hajj.”

Checks by The Gazette revealed that Mr Sule was in Mecca around the same time as Mr Abubakar for the hajj between February and March, 2026. During his stay in Saudi Arabia, Mr Sule also met with several political allies, including Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, representing Nasarawa South.

During the umrah in Mecca, Mr Abubakar also met with Aisha Buhari, the wife of then-President Muhammadu Buhari, an ally of Mr Tinubu. In a post on X on February 6, Mr Abubakar revealed that, during the Buhari family’s stay in Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj, he hosted Mrs Buhari, her daughter Hanan, and other family members.

Mr Abubakar, 79, has been gunning for president since 1992. In 1992, he lost to the late MKO Abiola in the Social Democratic Party presidential primary. In 1998, he became the PDP’s vice-presidential candidate and served as vice-president to President Olusegun between 1999 and 2007.

In 2007, he became the Action Congress’s presidential candidate, with Ben Obi as his running mate, following Mr Abubakar’s political alignment with Mr Tinubu.

In 2011, Mr Abubakar contested the PDP’s presidential primary and lost to then-President Goodluck Jonathan, having returned to the PDP from the AC in 2010.

In 2014, Mr Abubakar realigned with Messr Tinubu and Buhari in a political coalition to form the APC. He contested the party’s presidential primary and lost to Mr Buhari, who eventually emerged as president in 2015.

Mr Abubakar, however, returned to the PDP and contested as the PDP’s presidential candidate alongside Peter Obi in 2019. He lost again.

In 2023, Mr Abubakar was again the PDP standard-bearer and came second to Mr Tinubu in a closely contested presidential race.