The senate had suspended him for three months over the controversial remark, which he defended.
Pictures of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai meeting with suspended senator, Abdul Ningi, circulated on social media on Friday.
Ningi has been in the news since he granted an interview where he said the 2027 budget was padded by the Nigerian Senate with N3.7trillion.
The senate had suspended him for three months over the controversial remark, which he defended.
President Bola Tinubu had taken a swipe at Ningi when he hosted senators on Thursday night, saying those alleging that the budget was padded did not know the arithmetic of the budget.
Ningi, a key member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), exchanged pleasantries with El-Rufai, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and they had some discussions.
El-Rufai’s move has fuelled suspicion about 2027 presidency but Muyiwa Adekeye, his spokesman, said it had nothing to do with politics.
El-Rufai also visited the Social Democratic Party (SDP) headquarters on Wednesday where he met with the National Working Committee (NWC) of the opposition party.
In one of the videos of the visit, someone was heard telling the photographer not to upload the photos and video on the internet, but El-Rufai responded, saying, “Let them upload it; I don’t care.”
The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was on his way to securing a ministerial appointment in the government of Tinubu but he was dropped in the dying minute.
Although Tinubu nominated him and he was screened by the senate, the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly failed to confirm him, citing a security report.