A report by Peoples Gazette claims that Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, secretly met former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in Mecca on March 11, 2026. According to the report, Sule allegedly pledged financial support and the delivery of Nasarawa State votes for Atiku’s rumoured 2027 presidential bid under the African Democratic Congress. The alleged purpose of the alliance is to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and restore northern political control of the presidency.
The report relies on anonymous sources and offers no direct evidence of the meeting or the commitments described. No photographs, documents, or named insiders have been presented to support the claim. Both Sule and Atiku have not publicly addressed the report as of the time of publication.
Despite the thin sourcing, the story has gained traction because it fits comfortably within established patterns of Nigerian political behaviour. Elite realignments during religious pilgrimages, particularly Umrah and Hajj, have a documented history in the country’s politics. The 2015 defections that ultimately collapsed President Goodluck Jonathan’s hold on power were partly coordinated through backroom meetings that began far from public view. The idea that Mecca could serve as neutral ground for political negotiations is neither new nor implausible.
Atiku Abubakar has pursued the presidency with a persistence unmatched in Nigerian politics. Since his first attempt in 1993, he has contested or sought to contest the office on at least eight occasions across multiple political parties. His willingness to cross party lines is well established, having moved between the PDP, APC, and now reportedly the ADC. Whether another attempt at seventy-nine years old would energise voters or exhaust their patience remains an open question.
Reactions on social media were divided. Some users questioned how a meeting described as secret could be reported in such detail, suggesting the leak was itself a political move. Others speculated that the story could be a plant by Tinubu’s camp to smoke out disloyal governors or to frame Atiku as the opposition frontrunner, a familiar opponent the president’s team would prefer to face rather than a fresher challenger.
A significant thread running through the replies was frustration from northern commenters who feel that Tinubu’s economic policies have disproportionately burdened the region. The removal of fuel subsidies, the naira’s continued weakness, and rising food costs have hit the north hard, and that dissatisfaction is creating the exact political conditions under which defections thrive. Whether Governor Sule is genuinely exploring alternatives or the report is entirely fabricated, the underlying sentiment it taps into is real.
The APC has faced internal tensions before and survived, but the 2027 cycle presents unique pressures. A sitting president seeking re-election while managing economic discontent, regional grievances, and an opposition that smells vulnerability is a recipe for exactly the kind of backroom manoeuvring this report describes.
Whether the Mecca meeting happened or not matters less than what the story reveals about the current state of Nigerian politics. Trust within the ruling party is fragile, northern loyalty to Tinubu is not guaranteed, and Atiku Abubakar, as always, is somewhere in the conversation. The 2027 race is still distant, but the positioning has clearly begun….See More
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