Atiku left the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in frustration, and became the presidential flagbearer of the Action Congress (AC) in the 2007 general elections.
The former Vice President made the surprise visit to his former boss in company of the Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola whom Obasanjo described as the facilitator of the visit.
On arrival at the Presidential Hill Top mansion of the Obasanjos at about 10 a.m, both Atiku and Oyinlola, who rode in the same car to the venue, went into a closed door meeting with the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Daily Sun gathered that the interface, which was at the instance of Obasanjo, was brokered by Oyinlola. The Osun governor was also the one who personally picked Atiku at his Ikoyi, Lagos home, drove him to Abeokuta for the meeting and back to Ikoyi thereafter.
A source said: "Atiku was actually informed about the meeting while he was in far-away Dubai. Obasanjo decided to meet with his former second-in-command to look at issues in the polity. So when Atiku was contacted, because he didn’t want to be a stumbling block to effort aimed at resolving the perceived crisis in the country, he decided to honour the invitation."
The meeting, which lasted for about two hours ended at about 11.49 a.m. with both Obasanjo and Oyinlola emerging from an inner room, beaming with smiles.
Atiku, in a flowing white Agbada with blue stripes and a brown native cap to match, followed almost immediately.
Fielding questions from journalists who almost missed the historic visit, Atiku said: "I have come to pay my respect and New Year greetings to my former boss. It is a normal thing."
Asked whether it was a reconciliatory meeting, Atiku insisted that it was just "a courtesy visit to my boss."
However, Obasanjo who also spoke with the journalists said: "Some of us who are involved in the affairs of this country, we can never say we are not concerned. To that extent, we (myself and Atiku) have not been seen together since we left office to review ourselves and government.
Obasanjo disagreed with journalists who observed that there had been a cold war between the duo: "No personal animosity between me and Atiku. No personal issues altogether.
"The life of our government came to an end. When we were in government, we had political difference which is normal and we looked at it as a political difference between father and son, but we are back stronger now."
Turning to Atiku, Obasanjo said the former vice president was in a wrong party and until he got out of the AC and made a u-turn to the PDP, they could not be political associates.
Atiku who was asked when he would return to the PDP, however, said that was for a later day.
He insisted that the call was purely to show courtesy and not reconciliatory, stressing that there was no fight between them.
