ABUJA: Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has revealed that her husband’s decision to run on a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election strained her relationship with her local church, describing the experience as a bitter pill that tested her faith and loyalty.
The disclosure is contained in her new 52-page memoir, The Journey of Grace: Giving Thanks in All Things, released to mark her 65th birthday. The five-chapter publication, covering the years 2021 to 2025, features a foreword by Dr. Folashade Olukoya of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries.
According to Mrs. Tinubu, the Redeemed Christian Church of God parish where she had been an active member since 2007 was thrown into division over her husband’s controversial choice of a same-faith ticket.
She recalled that some members avoided her during the campaign season, while others openly expressed hostility.
Still, she refused to abandon her place of worship, insisting that her 15-year journey in the church, from worker to Deaconess and eventually Assistant Pastor in 2018, was too valuable to discard.
“Being a Christian wife did not matter. My local assembly was split, she wrote, adding that she had previously faced resistance in 2011 when her Senate campaign posters were rejected in the church.
But my husband’s bid for the Presidency was a bitter pill for them to chew.
Mrs Tinubu noted, however, that despite the resentment, many church elders encouraged her with prayers and support, which gave her the strength to continue attending services.
I thank my local assembly because most of them made me feel welcome and comfortable enough to come to church whenever I was home from Abuja,” she said.
Reflecting on the political dimension, she acknowledged that the Muslim-Muslim ticket revived one of Nigeria’s most sensitive debates, drawing criticism from Christian groups who warned it could inflame divisions in a religiously diverse country.
Supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress countered that zoning, competence and coalition-building mattered more than religious balancing.
President Bola Tinubu eventually won the February 2023 election, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, with Kashim Shettima as Vice-President.
The First Lady further disclosed that she has since forgiven those who betrayed or abandoned her husband during the campaign. She explained that she found peace in the grace of God, citing scriptural guidance from Acts 10:38, Jeremiah 17:5–8, Hebrews 12:2, and 1 Thessalonians 5:18. “I do not have anything against anyone, she wrote.
The Holy Spirit continually comforted me, assuring me never to avenge myself. If God decides to fight your battles and you have won, is there anything left for you to fix? Nothing, so let it go.”
She added that her political experiences have strengthened her Christian maturity and deepened her devotion to God.
According to her, the decision to forgive and remain thankful in all situations has allowed her to release resentment and focus on her broader goal of contributing to a greater Nigeria.
