The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has taken to the defense of her husband, President Bola Tinubu, following the economic hardship the country is facing under his leadership.

In May 2023, during Tinubu’s inauguration, he announced the removal of subsidies, which led to a drastic hike in fuel prices from N198 to N1030 per litre, affecting the cost of food, transportation and other things.

Oluremi Tinubu, who visited the Palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Thursday, October 10, 2024, pointed out that the administration is only 18 months old and cannot be solely blamed for the current state of the country.

“We are just 18 months into our administration; we are not the cause of the current situation; we are trying to fix it and secure the future.

We know that subsidy has been removed, but with God on our side, in the next two years, Nigeria will be greater than this. Those who attempted removing subsidies before could not see it through. But with your prayers in the next two years, we will build a nation for the future.

We give glory to God for our status, myself and my husband, we are not greedy but we thank God for what God has done for us. It is not common for rich people to get to this seat but I am grateful to God, we cannot disappoint Nigeria and with the help of God, we are getting to the promised land in no distant time,” she said.

Senator Tinubu said this while inaugurating a hostel and a 2.7-kilometre road donated to Ọbafẹmi Awolọwọ University (OAU), Ile-Ife, by the Ooni of Ife, which was named in her honour.

She also donated N1 billion to the university for its continued development.

The Ooni of Ife commended the First Lady for her role in restoring the country to prosperity and praised her longstanding service as a role model since her days as the First Lady of Lagos State.

Speaking on economic issues, Oluremi Tinubu noted that there is no food for a lazy man and called on Nigerians to work hard.

“There is no food for the lazy man, even God worked for six days and rested on the seventh day.” She added, “we are trying all our efforts to ensure that the economy is stabilised and masses are living meaningful lives since the removal of fuel subsidy.”