Sunday, March 30, 2025 - President Bola Tinubu has disclosed that his former placeholder, Aminu Masari, and a few others stopped him from dropping out of the presidential race.
Tinubu disclosed this while recalling how he almost dropped
out of the race after an encounter with a relative.
He spoke at a special Iftar held in his honour at the
Presidential Villa in Abuja on Saturday night and was contained in a statement
signed by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.
The president acknowledged the challenging path to him
assuming the presidency.
According to Tinubu: “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 am 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.’
“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 admitted assuming office amid 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.
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