President Bola Tinubu on Friday held a private meeting with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and a group of federal lawmakers at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting, which took place shortly after the Jummah prayers at the State House mosque, was not listed on the President’s official itinerary, fuelling speculation about its purpose.
Sources familiar with the development confirmed that Abbas arrived at the Villa alongside several lawmakers, including the Chief Whip of the House, Usman Kumo.
However, details of the discussions remained unclear as officials present said they were not privy to what transpired behind closed doors.
“They followed him back to the office after the prayers, but I don’t know what they discussed,” one source disclosed, noting that the Chief Whip was among those in attendance.
The meeting comes amid a flurry of high-level political consultations at the Villa in recent days.
On Wednesday, Senate President Godswill Akpabio led members of the Senate leadership to a similar closed-door session with the President.
Although the agenda of that earlier meeting was not officially disclosed, reports suggested that some senators had pushed for automatic return tickets ahead of the 2027 general elections—a request Tinubu was said to have declined.
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Instead, the President reaffirmed the authority of state governors within the ruling All Progressives Congress to determine candidates in their respective states, in line with party structures and the Electoral Act.
That position was further reinforced during Thursday’s meeting with APC governors, where Tinubu reportedly granted them significant control over the conduct of party primaries.
Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, confirmed the development, stating that governors had been given a “matching order” to oversee the process using either consensus or direct primaries.
The back-to-back engagements have heightened political tension within the National Assembly, particularly among lawmakers whose relationships with their state governors remain strained.
With the APC fixing May 15, 2026, for its House of Representatives primaries and the sale of nomination forms set to begin imminently, uncertainty continues to loom over the political future of many federal legislators seeking re-election.