Meet Oluremi Tinubu: The Pastor set to be Nigeria’s First Lady

Nigeria will on May 25 have a new president (Bola Ahmed Tinubu) taking over from President Muhammadu Buhari and with a new president comes a new first lady.

As the Lagos “landlord” takes over the affairs of the most populous nation in Africa, we take a look at the profile of Oluremi Tinubu, wife of Nigeria’s president-elect who by default becomes the first lady of the country.

Oluremi Tinubu is also a member of the All Progressive Congress, APC, and previously served as the First Lady of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007.

During her tenure as first lady, Remi as she is popularly founded the New Era Foundation with the goal of establishing centers for the comprehensive development of children and raising public awareness on environmental health and community service.

The twist

While her husband won the presidential election on a Muslim-Muslim ticket, Oluremi is a pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

-The incoming first lady currently holds the senatorial position, representing Lagos Central Senatorial District at the Nigerian National Assembly.

-Remi was born on September 21, 1960, to an Itsekiri mother and a Yoruba father. She was the youngest among 12 children and grew up in Ogun state.

-She holds a B.Sc in Education from the University of Ife.

-She got into active politics four years after her last role as first lady in 2011 when she was elected senator for Lagos Central.

-The tag Lagos first lady was given to her as a way of engaging in youth empowerment and advocacy through her New Era foundation.

-Remi has authored a number of books, one of which is, “The Journey of Grace- My faith walk”

-She has 4 children with the president-elect:  Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, Oluwasey Tinubu, Abibat Tinubu, and the late Jide Tinubu.

What is next for Remi Tinubu?

In a cheeky victory speech delivered on Wednesday morning, March 01, 2023, Tinubu insinuated that his 62-year-old wife won't be making a comeback to the senate, as she'll be occupied with more wifely responsibilities at home.

"To my lovely wife, Oluremi Tinubu, you the senators don't expect her back, she's going to be my housewife and the First Lady."

Ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu was declared the winner of Nigeria's presidential election early Wednesday.

The announcement by election officials overnight was likely to lead to a court challenge by the second-and third-highest finishers in the weekend vote, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. Abubakar also finished second in the last vote in 2019, then appealed those results before his lawsuit ultimately was dismissed.

Tinubu's ruling All Progressives Congress party urged the opposition to accept defeat Tuesday and not cause trouble after they had demanded a revote saying that delays in uploading election results had made room for irregularities.

Tinubu received 37% of the vote, or nearly 8.8 million, while the main opposition candidate Abubakar won 29% with almost 7 million. Third-place finisher Obi took 25% with about 6.1 million, according to the results announced on live television by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The president-elect thanked his supporters in the capital, Abuja, after his victory was announced and struck a reconciliatory tone in a message directed at his political adversaries.

“I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team up together," Tinubu said. “It is the only nation we have. It is one country and we must build together.”

The announcement of his victory came after 4 a.m., but celebrations already had started late Tuesday at the ruling party’s national secretariat where Tinubu’s supporters had gathered in anticipation of his victory.