Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has held a private meeting with Hajiya Aisha Buhari, the widow of former President Muhammadu Buhari, in Saudi Arabia.
The encounter occurred while both families were in the Kingdom performing Umrah, the lesser pilgrimage.
Atiku confirmed the visit through a message on his official social media page on Friday, stating he was honoured to host the former First Lady, her daughter Hanan, and other family members.
“Like me, the former First Lady and her family are in the Kingdom on a lesser hajj,” Atiku wrote.
Sources close to the development described the gathering as warm and respectful, emphasizing it was purely religious and personal in nature, with no political discussions or negotiations.
The families exchanged prayers and goodwill.
The meeting is particularly notable as it is understood to be Mrs. Buhari’s first known visit to Saudi Arabia since the death of her husband in 2025.
Her presence in the holy land has drawn messages of sympathy and support from across Nigeria.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
