Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Print Media, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, has dismissed concerns over the President’s recent meeting with Rabiu Kwankwaso, the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), describing it as normal political interaction.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday, Abdulaziz said political conversations across party lines are common and should not be viewed with suspicion.

Abdulaziz said, “Politicians talk; it’s not a sin to talk across lines.

“So, the presidency or friends of the president talking to Kwankwaso or the other way round should not be seen as anything strange or looked at with disdain or any suspicion. After all, it’s politics and people align, re-align and shape their political positions.”

The presidential aide noted that both Tinubu and Kwankwaso have maintained a longstanding political relationship spanning over three decades, dating back to their time as senators and later as state governors.

He said, “There is nothing strange about Kwankwaso talking to the APC or the president or the president talking to him. After all, there is a very longstanding relationship between the two.

“President Tinubu is somebody who has relationships dating back. He has been in the game for a very long time. Both men were elected as members of the National Assembly during the botched transition of 1993.

“Also, both of them were elected governors in 1999. So, they have had this long political association that you wouldn’t see anything strange if they are now closing ranks and reuniting under any arrangement.”