Lagos — FORMER Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu are now poised to reconcile following a break in their relationship which, at several points, threatened the continued existence of the Action Congress (AC).

The duo are scheduled to iron out their differences sparked, in the main, by the petition filed by Alhaji Atiku challenging the April 2007 election of President Umaru Yar'Adua. Asiwaju Tinubu had failed to convince the former V-P to drop the petition.

He was of the view that since the President had promised electoral reforms, he ought to be given the benefit of the doubt. But Alhaji Atiku thought otherwise. He lost the case even at the Supreme Court.

However, both men, Sunday Vanguard can reveal, are now shifting grounds on the need to collaborate and work together to, as a source putit, "salvage Nigeria from impending doom".

Tomorrow's proposed meeting is the first between the otherwise close friends in a very long while.

Last Tuesday, the leadership of the AC met in Abuja to discuss the propriety of moving en-bloc into the proposed mega party which has the trio of Atiku, Muhammadu Buhari and Atahiru Bafarawa as main conveners.

The presidential candidate of the Alliance for Democracy, AD, All Peoples Party, APP alliance in the 1999 presidential election, Chief Olu Falae, is also involved in the movement which is for now tagged National Democratic Movement, NDM.

Emerging philosophy

Some leaders of the mega party had expressed doubts over the possibility of AC joining because of the emerging philosophy in the party which a source described as "simply too narrow."

A source close to the mega party movement told Sunday Vanguard that "the agenda being pursued by AC would not take it too far. It can not hope to be a national political party and be content with just operating in the South West. The pact signed by the three men is a sign that things are going to be done differently this time, learning from the mistakes of the AC in 2006/2007.

"The reason why AC did not win many states in Nigeria was simply because some of those who had dumped the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for AC simply found out late in the day that the AC itself did not believe in the principle of party primaries and, therefore, became even more disillusioned", the source said, adding, "In Ekiti, for instance, the likes of Segun Oni and Dare Babarinsa were all in AC until they discovered that the leaders were going to and did impose candidates.

"It was with a view to reversing this trend that the trio of Atiku, General Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atahiru Bafarawa signed a pact that whoever emerges as the presidential candidate of the party would receive the unconditional backing of the others - and included in the pact signed by the three men is the agreement that anybody who would emerge as the candidate of the party for any elective office in the country shall emerge through the process of a free and fair party primary - and this includes election into any of the party offices".

As a sign of good faith, the meeting of the mega party held last Wednesday in Abuja had Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora representing Bola Tinubu.