*President shows maturity to Fayose, shakes hands with him
President Muhammadu Buhari met with former Nigerian rulers, sitting governors and others who are by law members of Council of State meeting as they arrived ahead of yet another edition of the meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.
Notably on ground to be part of attendance at the meeting were Buhari’s ardent critic of late, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has engaged in a Buhari-must-go mission, and the Ekiti State and notable spreader of obituary messages against the person of the President from his pre- to post-election victory era, Mr. Ayodele Fayose.
The President, ostensibly showing maturity to Fayose, shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with him at the meeting, just as he did to Obasanjo, who had used an 18-page letter, recently, to convey to the nation that President Muhammadu Buhari had failed the country, which later boomeranged as he (Obasanjo), later faced with heavy condemnations from several quarters, has battled tooth and nail since then to clarify himself over the letter that he now claims was not written with any ill feeling.
It would be recalled that President Buhari has never dignified Fayose with any reply since he started his criticism even when it got to the dangerous point of traveling down to China to incite the Chinese government against the President at a time he (Buhari) was on an official trip to the country.
President Buhari summoned a meeting of the Council of State to deliberate on key national issues.
The meeting, which was said to have commenced at 11 in the morning, was attended by three former presidents in the persons of General Yakubu Gowon, Obasanjo and General Abdulsalami Abubakar; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; four former Chief Justices of Nigeria; Senate President Bukola Saraki and state governors including the Chairman of Progressives Governors Forum and Governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha.
The four former Chief Justices of Nigeria attending the meeting are Justice Muhammad Uwais, Idris Kutigi, Mariam Alooma and Justice Alfa Belgore.
The meeting would consider the appointment of National Commissioners for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), among other issues.
The meeting observed a minute silence in memory of late former Chief Justice Dahiru Mustapher, who died recently.
