Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has revealed that members of her church, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), shunned her after her husband chose a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election.
She made the disclosure in her new 52-page memoir, The Journey of Grace: Giving Thanks in All Things, released to mark her 65th birthday. The book details her personal and political experiences between 2021 and 2025.
Mrs Tinubu said the decision of her husband, President Bola Tinubu, to run alongside Kashim Shettima, both Muslims, split her local parish and left her feeling isolated in a place she once called home.
“One of such decisions was the unpopular ‘Muslim/Muslim ticket’. My being a Christian did not matter. My local Assembly, Redeemed Christian Church of God, was split,” she wrote.
The First Lady, who has been a dedicated RCCG member since 2007, rising from worker to Deaconess and eventually Assistant Pastor in 2018, said the hostility from some members was “a bitter pill” to swallow.
Still, she chose to remain in the church, relying on her faith and support from elders who prayed with her throughout the campaign.
“But my husband’s bid for the Presidential Office was different, a bitter pill for them to chew. So the little resentment I witnessed from a few was met with the peace of God,” she added.
The Muslim-Muslim ticket was one of the most controversial issues in the 2023 election, sparking backlash from Christian leaders who feared it could deepen religious divides. Supporters, however, argued that competence and political strategy mattered more than religion.
Mrs Tinubu also revealed that some close political allies abandoned her husband during his campaign. But she said she has since forgiven both political and religious figures who opposed them, choosing instead to focus on peace and thanksgiving.
“I do not have anything against anyone…the question is how did I not feel the betrayal anymore? I knew the grace factor was evident, and the Holy Spirit continually comforted me. Never to avenge myself, assuring me that it is God’s prerogative. Mine is to thank Him for fighting for us,” she wrote.
According to Oluremi Tinubu, scriptures such as 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks”, helped her navigate the bitterness and see her trials as part of God’s plan.
Now First Lady, Mrs Tinubu says she is at peace with the past:
“Letting go is what I did; doing good is what matters most. Like my Saviour Jesus Christ in Acts 10:38… I am at peace, doing all I can to make Nigeria better and greater.”
