Tinubu denies secret meeting with CJN Ariwoola in London, calls report ‘pure fabricated news’

President-elect, Bola Tinubu has denied any secret meeting in London with the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, amid viral reports claiming that the duo is in negotiations to navigate the course of numerous petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) candidates challenging outcome of the February 25 Presidential election in the country.

Asiwaju Tinubu had left the country, last Wednesday, over what his aides said was to ‘to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan Fasting that begins Thursday.’

“After a very exhaustive campaign and election season, President-elect, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, has travelled abroad to rest and plan his transition programme ahead of May 29, 2023 inauguration.

“The President-elect left the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja for Europe on Tuesday night,” according to a statement by Tunde Rahman, of the Office of President-elect.

Rahman explained further that ‘Tinubu decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan Fasting that begins Thursday.’

“While away, he will also use the opportunity to plan his transition programme.

“He is expected back in the country soon.

“We enjoin the media to stop publishing rumours and unsubstantiated claims and to always seek clarifications from our office,” said Rahman.

However, by Thursday, it was reported that the President-elect was already in London locked in a secret meeting with Chief Justice Ariwoola, who himself had sneaked had out of the country more than one week earlier.

Tinubu had left Nigeria a day after one of the petitioners, the candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, had filed a weighty petition challenging the declaration of Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as winner of the disputed February 25 Presidential election.

In the petition, Obi had prayed the Presidential Elections Tribunal (PET) to nullify Tinubu’s victory on many grounds some of which include that; the president-elect by virtue of his drug dealing past was not qualified to contest the election, and also that INEC failed to follow guidelines spelt out in the Electoral Act 2022 Amendment in the conduct of the poll.

Numerous reports, including Peoples Gazette, Sahara Reporters, had separately claimed that the CJN deliberately disguised himself to sneak out of the country, and had remained under the disguise even at the hotel where he is lodging in London, in order to conclude the meeting with Tinubu.

The meeting, according the reports is believed to be strategic and could determine whether the president-elect will be inaugurated come May 29, this year.

CJ Ariwoola departed Nigeria on Saturday, March 11 via Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. He was pushed in a wheelchair through the Departure Terminal to board a British Airways flight.

Upon arrival in London, CJ Ariwoola, 64, was also wheeled into a hotel downtown, where he has remained ever since.

However, it was further reported that immediately after checking into the hotel, the CJN abandoned his wheelchair and started moving around the facility unaided, just it has been claimed that the Supreme Court head is not known with any physical disabilities.

A source at the Supreme Court confirmed to Gazette that Ariwoola wanted to meet Tinubu to discuss issues that may arise from the budding legal challenge to the declaration as president-elect, including whether or not he should be worried about the petitions recently filed by opposition parties.

“The CJN would either assure Tinubu of victory in court or tell him that he should be worried about the dimension the petitions may take through the court stages,” the source said under anonymity to avoid facing administrative action for divulging privileged information to reporters.

“But we may never know what they actually discussed after their secret meeting.  I am reluctant to start thinking about the of their meeting right now,” the source said, adding: “But any fair-minded person will easily admit that both of them meeting in a foreign corner to discuss something that Nigerians will not know about is highly suspicious and should be unwarranted.”

However, amid the claims of a possible meeting between the president-elect and the CJN, Tinubu has moved to deny any such development, as a social media handle operated by aides of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain,  (@PresElectNgr­­_), possibly by Mr Rahman, said his principal ‘is right now in France to have a deserved rest.’

The tweet posted at past 10:25pm, Thursday night, dismissed claims of any ‘clandestine meeting between the President-elect and the respected Chief Justice of our country, anywhere,’ and further described such reports as ‘pure fabricated news, groundless in fact and authenticity.’

“There has been no clandestine meeting between the President-elect and the respected Chief Justice of our country, anywhere. It’s pure fabricated news, groundless in fact and authenticity.

“The President-elect, who left Nigeria Tuesday has not been in London.

“He is right now in France to have a deserved rest, after a hectic campaign that began in January 2022.”

The election petition tribunal in Abuja is expected to kick off sitting after a mandatory 21 days of notification by the court is served to the respondents to file their affidavits in response to the petitioners’ claims as demanded by court procedures.