President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reaffirmed his commitment to Nigeria, saying God has answered his prayer to continue in office.

The President stated this on Monday while reflecting on his spiritual journey to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, during which the Custodian of the Holy Mosques of Makkah and Madinah, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, granted him a rare privilege of leading Nigeria’s delegation to pray inside the Holy Ka’abah.

At the Ka’abah, Tinubu offered prayers of gratitude to Almighty Allah for the privilege of serving as Nigeria’s President.
Sheikh Dahlulah Muthawal of Masjid al-Haram led the President into the Ka’abah.

Tinubu thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for granting him and members of his Nigerian delegation the opportunity to enter the Holy Ka’abah in Makkah and offer prayers to Almighty Allah.

The President described the honour as a historic and deeply cherished spiritual experience, reflecting the longstanding bonds of friendship, mutual respect and cooperation between Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“I want to say a big thank you for the faith, for the recognition. I can’t believe the fencing of the Ka’abah is in Green-White-Green, which reminds us of the Nigerian identity.”

“I thank the Crown Prince and all the administrators of the holy land. I thank them for the hospitality and recognition given to me as the leader of the delegation and the country.

“We are all facing challenges and hostility around us. We will overcome them with faith in God Almighty. I’m grateful forever. I thank the King and the royal Crown Prince.

“It is an honour that I enjoyed, and it is gracious of them to have allowed me to enter inside the Ka’abah. This is history. Well, I asked for wisdom and resilience to continue to serve the people. I know that prayer has been granted. Before the 2023 election, I did the same thing. I asked Allah to bless my Umrah then, and He did.
And I promised that I would come back to thank Him.”

Reflecting on the message from the Holy Qur’an in Surah Aal-Imran, Verse 26, which affirms that Almighty Allah is the Owner of all sovereignty, granting power and authority to whom He wills and taking them away from whom He wills, the President said power is a trust that must be exercised responsibly, with humility and in the service of the people, recognising that no position of authority is permanent and that ultimate sovereignty belongs to Almighty Allah.

“There is no other God but Almighty Allah. He is the giver and the taker. He owns power and authority. He says, ‘ If I give you, use it well. If you don’t use it in accordance with my dictates, I can take it from you and give it to another person. I am the only One who has that authority,” the President said, quoting the words of the Qur’an.

Tinubu said faith in Allah had strengthened his conviction that his emergence as Nigeria’s leader was an extraordinary blessing that must be matched with dedicated service to the country.

“I have faith in that, and I believe extremely well that He has done me and my country a great favour. Out of many millions of people, to be the President and Commander-in-Chief is a favour that only Almighty God can do to a human being,” he stated.

Tinubu emphasised that his commitment to Project Nigeria had become even stronger, assuring Nigerians of his resolve to pursue policies and programmes that would promote prosperity, national development and shared progress.

“My commitment to Project Nigeria is higher. I am determined to usher in prosperity and fully develop the country, consistent with the wish of Allah and the support of the people.

“It is important to put Allah first, then move on. Follow your conscience. Follow the right path that will lead Nigeria to that greatness,” the President said.

On the nation’s economic outlook, Tinubu expressed optimism about the “progress made under his watch”, describing the economic foundation as solid and the country’s emergence from a difficult period as encouraging.

“The foundation is solid, and the economy has come out of the dark tunnel. This is inspiring,” he said.

He maintained, however, that nation-building requires sustained investment in young Nigerians’ future, noting that today’s leaders’ decisions will determine how future generations remember them.

“We need to build a future for our youth. If we don’t invest in their future, how do we want to be remembered as leaders 50 years from now? That’s the main thing. So this is a rare privilege to lead the country,” the President added.

The Kano State High Court has adjourned the trial of Aisha Ismail, who is accused of killing her co-wife’s baby, until December 3, 2026.

The case came up for hearing on Friday before Justice Aisha Mahmud at Court 24, Audu Bako Secretariat, Kano.

Ismail, a resident of Tabanni in Bichi Local Government Area of Kano State, is facing a charge of culpable homicide under Section 221 of the Penal Code.

During Friday’s proceedings, the prosecution counsel, Ummi Habib Almajir, presented the third witness, Abubakar Musa, who is a nephew of the accused woman’s husband.

Musa was cross-examined by the defence counsel and answered questions about the case before the court discharged him after his testimony.

The prosecution had earlier called two witnesses to testify in the matter.

The court adjourned the case until December 3, when the prosecution is expected to present its final witness.

Ismail is accused of giving rat poison to her co-wife’s baby, resulting in the child’s death.

The allegations are yet to be determined by the court.

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has explained the circumstances surrounding a prayer walk during which he was pictured carrying a placard, following reports linking the exercise to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Adeboye expressed surprise at the reports, saying there was no point denying the incident. However, he faulted the account that presented the exercise as a protest against Jonathan, insisting that it took place in 2020, five years after the former president left office.

The cleric spoke during the church’s November Thanksgiving service on Sunday, where he criticised journalists for allegedly misrepresenting the incident without verifying the facts.

He explained that the exercise was a prayer walk organised to seek divine intervention over insecurity and killings in the country.

Adeboye said the church leadership had directed congregations to organise prayer walks around their respective locations, adding that he participated in the exercise in Ebute Metta, Lagos.

He maintained that the photograph was genuine but questioned the claim that it showed him protesting against Jonathan with a placard while he was president.

“But I carried the placard in 2020. Jonathan ceased to be president in 2015. I carried the placard five years in the second term of Buhari,” he said.

The RCCG leader accused a journalist of changing the context of the incident and said the report was accepted without proper investigation.

“But a journalist twisted and said I did what I did in 2015. And everybody swallowed it,” he said.

Adeboye also recalled his experience studying at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in the 1960s, where he said he learnt about investigative journalism.

He said students were encouraged to take courses outside their primary areas of study, giving them opportunities to acquire knowledge from other disciplines.

Recalling what he learnt about journalism, he said: “I remember in those days in the Department of Journalism, when you go there and you take a course, they talked about something called investigative journalism.

“That things don’t appear as they may seem. Investigate, if you have a story, before you take it to the press.”

He expressed disappointment that the journalist involved in the report allegedly failed to establish the actual date and purpose of the prayer walk.

“I’m talking to those of you in the creative industry. Nobody checked,” he said.

Adeboye also cited another incident in which he accused some media organisations of selectively reporting comments he made during an engagement with highly placed Americans over the abduction of schoolchildren in Nigeria.

He said he had spoken about the efforts being made to secure the release of the abducted children, including his belief that prayers were being answered.

According to him, he disagreed with a speaker who suggested that nothing was being done to rescue the children, explaining that he believed God had assured him that the children would survive.

Adeboye further recalled discussing the position of the United States and its president, Donald Trump, on Nigeria’s security challenges. He said his comments included an appeal for more assistance, particularly in addressing those sponsoring terrorism.

However, he alleged that a report published after the engagement focused on his statement that Nigeria’s president had done his best, while leaving out other parts of his remarks.

The cleric said he had spoken for about 30 minutes, but the report used less than five minutes of his comments, giving readers what he considered an incomplete account of the discussion.

He also said he had thanked the US president for the assistance offered but made it clear that Nigeria required further support.

Adeboye’s complaints centred on what he described as the media’s failure to provide the full context of his statements, urging journalists to investigate stories and avoid selective reporting.

He concluded his criticism with a remark directed at members of the profession: “God have mercy on journalists.”