President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said he almost dumped the 2023 presidential race.

The President said this at a special Iftar held in his honour at the Presidential Villa on Saturday night.

President Tinubu thanked guests for their presence, prayers, and contributions to the nation’s development, and appreciated Nigerians for their outpouring of goodwill and prayers as he marked his 73rd birthday.

Reflecting on his political journey, President Tinubu recounted a moment of doubt during the 2023 election campaign when he contemplated withdrawing from the race after an encounter with a close relative.

“Those close to me know that the odds were against me. During the campaigns, one of them came to my living room around 3:30 a.m. and said he needed just N50,000 to buy foodstuff for our uncle.

“He told me, ‘The currency is gone because of you. People are jumping over bank counters because there is no cash. Our uncle, a wealthy man, doesn’t even have N10,000 in cash. What are you running for?

“I told him, ‘I am running for President, not for you and our uncle.’ I gave him the N50,000. As he walked out, he turned to me and said, ‘I don’t think you will make it.’ I replied, ‘I will make it,’” said Tinubu.

The President stated that his uncle later called to confirm receiving the money but admitted that he had only given the messenger N10,000, keeping the rest.

“I was amazed. At that moment, I almost dropped the idea of running for President. But thanks to Aminu Masari and all of you who encouraged me.

“When I came to Abuja, Masari told me, ‘I am the Chairman of the North West Group; don’t look back’,” he said.

President Tinubu noted that he assumed office during a time of economic uncertainty and had to make immediate, difficult decisions, including removing the fuel subsidy.

“On the day of my inauguration, I had to decide on something not originally in my speech, and that was the fuel subsidy removal,” he said.

Noting that Nigeria had reached a point of no return on the issue, the President said: “The hallmark of a great leader is the ability to make the right decision at the right time.

“That was the day I declared that the subsidy was gone. The following day, I was hounded and thoroughly abused in the media. But I stood firm, knowing it was the right thing to do for our nation’s future.”

Vice President Kashim Shettima lauded the President’s sacrifices, stating that history will remember him as the leader who took on the nation’s most complex challenges.

“Thanks to his boldness, future presidents of Nigeria will not have to wrestle with the same ghosts that haunted past administrations, including fraud-ridden fuel subsidies, an unstable forex market, and the suppression of local government autonomy.

“These were the thorny issues that many before him sidestepped. But Asiwaju did not sidestep history; he came to rewrite it.

“And in rewriting it, Asiwaju has taken the bullets that many before him simply lacked the courage to face.

“But that is the thing about true leadership: it is not for those who seek comfort. It is for those who understand that the path to national greatness is lined with difficult choices,” he said.

Sen. Godswill Akpabio, President of the Senate, praised the President’s ability to forgive and his relentless passion for national development.

Akpabio described the President as a leader who thinks outside the box and as the ‘most audacious president’ in the country’s history.

He said under Tinubu’s watch, governors were getting more allocation.

“If I were a governor under your administration, I would have been a ‘supernatural governor’ and not an uncommon governor,” he said.

Mr Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, described President Tinubu as a leader who has broken barriers and uplifted future Nigerian politicians.

He noted that the President had taken a backseat to raising leaders for decades.

“Today, he is at the forefront because Nigeria needs him. In 2019, despite not being from his region, he supported me in my most difficult political moment.

“Nigeria needs leaders who rise above tribal considerations, and he has demonstrated that,” he said.

Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo State commended the President’s decisive leadership at a time when Nigeria needed stability.

“Only a leader with deep conviction and love for the country could have taken the bold and yet necessary decisions that averted national collapse and now restoring hope and confidence across the federation,” he said.

Dr. Bosun Tijjani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, shared his personal experience of being appointed by President Tinubu despite his past activism.

“Before my appointment, I had never met the President. But after my confirmation, he told me, ‘I have looked at your records and activism, and I am giving you an opportunity to serve,’” he said.

The minister recounted a recent meeting at the World Bank, where a senior official described Tinubu as the best reformist leader in Africa today.

Prof. Shaffideen Amuwo, a childhood friend of the President, reminisced about their early years and how divine providence led Tinubu to the presidency.

“Our relationship did not just start in Chicago; we played soccer together as children.

“While I chose the library, my brother chose politics because he loved to speak. Today, Allah has shown His greatness by guiding him to lead Nigeria.

“The city of Chicago, founded by a Black man, has educated the man who now leads the most populous Black nation on earth.

“I pray that Allah continues to hold his hand and guide him as he works to save our country,” he said.

Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Federal Capital Territory FCT minister, Lere Olayinka has described as false, claims by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, that the committee set up by the People’s Democratic Party PDP to select its Vice Presidential candidate in the 2023 election rated the former Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as its first choice.

Olayinka said his principal, Nyesom Wike also never sought to be Atiku’s running mate in the first place.

He said it was unfortunate that Atiku, could not respect the Holy Month of Ramadan and avoid telling lies, asking how a committee would present a person who had two votes as first choice against the person who had 13 votes.

Atiku had said; “In 2023, I told the party (PDP) to set up a committee to recommend three names. The committee ranked Okowa as the top choice, with Wike in second place and former Akwa Ibom Governor, Udom Emmanuel in third. So I picked number one.”

Reacting, the FCT Minister’s Spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday, that it became necessary to put the records straight, hence the need to debunk Atiku’s lies, insisting that “Wike never put himself forward to be Atiku’s running mate then, Atiku did by himself, and he (Wike) accepted his offer with conditions.”

Olayinka said it was a fact that in the committee report, Wike had 13 votes while Okowa had two.

He said; “the committee set up by the PDP picked Wike as Atiku’s running mate, but for reasons best known to him, he settled for Okowa, who had two votes from the committee members. That’s the truth Atiku should tell and stand with, not trying to colour his decision with falsehood.”

Olayinka, who noted that, for devout Muslims, the period of Ramadan is one of holiness, said “Al-Bukhaari (1903, 6057) quoted Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) as saying that Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) said: ‘Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, and ignorance, Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) has no need of him giving up his food and drink.’

“Unfortunately, Atiku chose to tell lies so brazenly during the holy month of Ramadan, obviously forgetting that Allah (SWT) does not hearken to the prayers of liars, probably the reason he (Atiku) has continually failed in his desperation to be president of Nigeria.”

Advising Atiku to always be honest to stand by his decisions, Olayinka said the FCT Minister was no longer interested in what happened and what did not happen concerning the 2023 presidential election.

“Like I said earlier, Wike has no regret for Atiku not picking him as his running mate and he also has no regret taking the position he took concerning the presidential election,” he said.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has strongly dismissed claims by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the revocation of its land title was a deliberate attempt to suppress opposition. Speaking during a visit by the Body of Benchers in Abuja on Friday, Wike, who is also a life bencher, expressed disappointment over the allegations.

He clarified that the revocation of land titles, such as the PDP’s land in Central Area, Abuja, was not politically motivated, but rather a result of non-payment of mandatory ground rent. The PDP, despite generating significant revenue from the sale of party forms, failed to pay the N7.6 million rent for over a decade.

Wike also highlighted that the PDP’s National Secretariat at Wadata Plaza was not registered in the party’s name, but under a Senator’s ownership, who had also neglected to pay ground rent for 28 years. The minister questioned why the PDP was accusing him of targeting the party when the issue was rooted in unpaid dues.

The minister emphasized that similar actions had been taken against various institutions and individuals, including the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria, for the same reason. Wike made it clear that no one, regardless of status, would be spared from land title revocation due to overdue rent.

Wike’s recent approval of the revocation of nearly 5,000 land titles for failure to pay ground rent underscored his commitment to enforcing the policy fairly.