KEY POINTS
- President Tinubu tells religious and traditional leaders that terrorists are growing desperate as Nigeria’s military intensifies operations against them.
- Tinubu declares the economy has stabilized, saying no governor now needs to borrow from banks to pay workers’ salaries.
- Christian and Muslim leaders from all six geopolitical zones attended the interfaith Ramadan fast-breaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
President Bola Tinubu stood before religious and traditional leaders Monday night and delivered a message that was equal parts war briefing and economic report card.
The setting was an interfaith breaking of the Ramadan fast at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, but Tinubu used the occasion to address two things weighing on most Nigerians: security and the cost of living.
On terrorism, he was direct. Military pressure on insurgent groups had pushed them into a corner, he said, and their increasingly brutal attacks were a sign of weakness, not strength.
“The terrorists are very desperate now because they are getting barraged and defeated,” Tinubu said. “They leave trails of blood in their wake. But I assure you of one thing: Nigeria will never surrender. We are not discouraged. We are going to win and win well.”
On the Economy, the President Says the Worst Is Behind Nigeria
Tinubu told the gathering that the administration had pulled the country back from a dangerous fiscal edge. He said the government had stabilized public finances and averted what he described as an imminent economic collapse when his administration took over in 2023.
“We have saved Nigeria from bankruptcy,” he said. “It was very daunting and challenging when we took over. But today I can say with pride and joy that we have survived.”
He added that state governors no longer needed to borrow from banks to meet payroll, a detail he offered as evidence that the fiscal pressure had eased. Pensioners, he said, were also beginning to get some relief.
Religious Leaders Back the Administration, Urge National Unity
The Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar, who represented the Sultan of Sokoto and the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, thanked Tinubu for bringing Muslim and Christian leaders together under one roof. He prayed for peace and divine guidance for the country’s leadership.
Archbishop Daniel Okoh, representing the Evangelical Church Winning All president Stephen Baba-Panya, told Tinubu the church stood behind government efforts to grow the economy and tighten national security.
Traditional rulers and religious leaders drawn from all six geopolitical zones attended the event, a deliberate show of national breadth that the presidency leaned into as a symbol of unity during Ramadan.
