I almost left the presidential race of 2023, says Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu declared that he almost closes the presidential race of 2023.

The president said it in a special IFTAR held in his honor to the presidential villa on Saturday evening,

The president Tinubu thanked the guests for their presence, prayers and contributions to the development of the nation and appreciated the Nigerians for their nuance of good will and prayers while marked his 73rd birthday.

Reflecting on his political journey, the president Tinubu told a moment of doubt during the 2023 election campaign when he thought of retiring from the race after a meeting with a close relative.

“Those close to me know that the probability were against me. During the countryside, one of them came to my living room around 3:30 in the morning and said he needed only N50.000 to buy food for our uncle.

“He said to me:” The currency has disappeared thanks to you. People jump on banks counter because there is no money. Our uncle, a rich man, does not even have N10,000 in cash. What are you running?

“I said to him:” I’m nominating the president, not for you and our uncle. “I gave him the n50,000. I replied,” I will do it, “said Tinubu.

The president said that his uncle later called to confirm the reception of money, but admitted that he had given only the messenger N10.000, keeping the rest.

“I was amazed. At that moment, I almost let the idea of ​​applying for the president fall. But thanks to Aminu Masari and all of you who encouraged me.

“When I came to Abuja, Masari said to me:” I am the president of the North West group; Don’t look back “,” he said.

President Tinubu observed that he assumed the assignment during a period of economic uncertainty and had to make immediate and difficult decisions, including the removal of the subsidy for fuel.

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

Noting that Nigeria had reached a point of no return to the matter, the president said: “The distinctive sign of a great leader is the ability to make the right decision at the right time.

“This was the day I declared that the subsidy was disappeared. The following day, I was persecuted and abused in the media. But I stopped stopped, knowing that it was the right thing to do for the future of our nation.”

Vice -president Kashim Shettimo praised the president’s sacrifices, stating that history will remember him as a leader who faced the most complex challenges of the nation.

“Thanks to its audacity, the future presidents of Nigeria will not have to fight with the same ghosts that persecuted the past administrations, including subsidies for fuel full of fraud, an unstable forex market and the suppression of the autonomy of the local government.

“These were the thorny issues that many in front of him eliminated. But Asiwaju did not educate the story; it came to rewrite it.

“And in rewriting him, Asiwaju took the bullets that many before him did not simply have the courage to face.

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

Senator 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 like the “most daring president” in the history of the country.

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

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

Benjamin Kalu, vice -president of the House of Representatives, described President Tinubu as a leader who broke barriers and raised the future Nigerian politicians.

He observed that the president had taken a rear seat to breed leaders for decades.

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

“Nigeria needs leaders who exceed tribal considerations and has shown it,” he said.

The governor hopes that the Uzodinma of the state of imo praised the president’s decisive leadership at a time when Nigeria needed stability.

“Only a leader with deep condemnation and love for the country could have made the daring and yet necessary decisions that have avoided national collapse and now restoring hope and trust throughout 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 said to me:” I looked at your records and activism and I’m giving you the opportunity to serve, “he said.

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

Prof. Shaffideen Amuwo, an infantile friend of the president, recalled their first years and how the Divine Providence brought Tinubu to the presidency.

“Our relationship has not just started in Chicago; we played football together with children.

“While I chose the library, my brother chose politics because he loved to speak. Today Allah showed his greatness by leading him to lead Nigeria.

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

“Please Allah continues to keep his hand and guide him as he works to save our country,” he said.