In a significant display of respect and solidarity, former Vice Presidents Atiku Abubakar and Namadi Sambo paid a courtesy visit to former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola at his Ilesa residence. The visit coincides with the eve of the coronation of the 49th Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Clement Adesuyi Haastrup.
The meeting, captured in a viral video and photo shared by Atiku on social media, showed the former Vice Presidents enjoying a warm breakfast with Aregbesola and other prominent Osun politicians. Notable attendees included:
Lowo Adebiyi, former APC Chairman in Osun State, Alhaji Azeez Adesiji, Chairman of Omoluabi Progressives, Moshood Adeoti, former Secretary to the Osun State Government, Najeem Salaam, former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly.
Despite a last-minute court challenge, the Osun State High Court in Ilesa refused to grant an injunction to stop the coronation. The ceremony is set to take place today, marking a significant milestone in the history of Ijesaland.
In an earlier post from Akure Airport in Ondo State, Atiku also acknowledged the warm reception he received upon arrival for the monarch’s coronation.
Atiku, however, wrote, “I was warmly received by stakeholders on arrival at the Akure Airport in Ondo State, ahead of the coronation of the 49th HRH Owa Obokun Adimula and Paramount Ruler of Ijesaland, Oba Clement Adesuyi Haastrup today.”
The visit, though informal, is already being widely interpreted as a politically symbolic meeting, with comments and reactions to the post which was also shared to his Facebook account noting the significance of such a high-powered trio—Atiku, Sambo, and Aregbesola—convening in the build-up to Nigeria’s 2027 political horizon.
Atiku, sitting in between his wife Titi and former President Olusegun Obasanjo shakes hand with Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke
Taking to X later in the day, the former VP posted, “It was with profound joy that I joined multitudes of Ijesha sons and daughters and well-wishers to witness the coronation of HRH Oba Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, as the new Owa Obokun Adimula, Ajimoko III in Ilesha, Osun State, Yesterday.
Atiku in a group photo at the coronation
I was there both as an in-law and a friend of the great people of Ijeshaland. I wish the new Owa Obokun a peaceful and long reign.
