Former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Monday held a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the president’s official residence.

The meeting followed Kwankwaso’s appearance at the opening of the Nigeria Forest Economy Summit 2025 held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

It is the second publicly known encounter between the two men in just over two years.

Their last recorded meeting in the Aso Rock Villa took place on June 9, 2023, days after Tinubu’s inauguration, making Kwankwaso the first presidential candidate to visit the President.

Addressing State House correspondents at the time, Kwankwaso said he discussed politics and governance with the president.

He also said he might work with Tinubu, but did not state the details.

Although Monday’s meeting was not open to the press, the visit came only weeks after the opposition African Democratic Congress announced a broad-based coalition aimed at challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2027 elections.

Kwankwaso, 67, is a veteran northern power-broker and founder of the “Kwankwasiyya” political movement.

He served two non-consecutive terms as governor of Kano (1999-2003 and 2011-2015), was defence minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo and ran for president on the ticket of the New Nigeria Peoples Party in 2023, finishing fourth but clinching an emphatic victory in Kano State.

The NNPP won the governorship and a majority of state assembly seats, which cemented Kwankwaso’s continued sway over Nigeria’s most populous northern state.

Although the NNPP is not formally part of the ADC-led coalition, opposition figures have courted Kwankwaso as they seek to unify disparate parties ahead of the 2027 presidential race.

Presidency sources contacted for this report could not confirm the details of the discussion between the two men.

One source said the meeting was held at the residence and was, therefore, off limits for most aides. (The PUNCH, excluding headline)

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