Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu GCFR (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian politician who is serving as the 16th and current president of Nigeria since 2023.

After the military dictator Sani Abacha dissolved the Senate in 1993, Tinubu went into exile and became an activist campaigning for the return of democracy as a part of the National Democratic Coalition movement.

He was a consultant for Saudi Aramco's joint venture partner National Oil, helping to establish their accounting and auditing system and leading to his first financial breakthrough.

[16] Tinubu's political career began in 1991,[17] when he joined the Social Democratic Party and was actively involved in campaigning for the candidacy of Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.

Following the seizure of power as military head of state of General Sani Abacha,[19] Tinubu faced numerous arrests, detentions, harassment, and threats to his life, forcing him to flee Nigeria for safety.

[21] He went on to win the AD primaries for the Lagos State governorship elections in defeating Funsho Williams and Wahab Dosunmu, a former Minister of Works and Housing.

[23] As a skilled political strategist, Tinubu survived the then ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) massive takeover of the South Western States of Nigeria as the sole re-elected Governor of the AD.

He was also conferred with the Honorary Doctor of Law Degree by Abia State University for his contributions to democracy, good governance, and Nigeria’s development.

[25] He was involved in a struggle with the Olusegun Obasanjo-controlled federal government over whether Lagos State had the right to create new Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to meet the needs of its large population.

[34] Sahara Reporters later revealed that Tinubu made a deal with the Jonathan administration to support his re-election instead or face perjury charges levied against him on two counts by the federal government over his educational background.

[35][36] Tinubu had previously filled out governorship candidate forms in 1998 to the Independent National Electoral Commission, falsely admitting that he had attended Government College, Ibadan.

[37] Tinubu later stated in the run up to the 2015 election that he supported the candidacy of Goodluck Jonathan due to his perceived reform agenda, a claim which he had previously sued publisher Sahara Reporters over.

[44] In 2015, Buhari rode the APC to victory, ending the 16-year rule of the PDP, and marking the first time an incumbent Nigerian president lost to an opposition candidate.

[45] Tinubu went on to play an important role in the Buhari administration, supporting government policies and holding onto the internal party reins, in lieu of his long-held rumored presidential aspiration.

It was marred by reports of vote buying, voter intimidation, attacks on polling units in certain areas, and unpunctual electoral officials along with accusations of outright fraud;[55][56] to compound issues with trust in the election, Independent National Electoral Commission officials failed to upload polling unit results to the INEC result viewing portal as previously assured would happen on election day.

[60][61] These circumstances along with statements critical of INEC from observers and civil society groups led the Abubakar, Obi, and Kwankwaso campaigns to question and then officially reject the announced election results by 28 February.

[62][63][64][65] All three main opposition campaigns, in addition to some civil society groups and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, called on the commission to rerun the election due to fraud and violence.

[81] The statement in his inaugural address caused initial panic buying and an overnight increase in prices at fuel pump stations in Nigeria.

[91][90][92] Emefiele was replaced by one of his more economical liberal deputies Folashodun Adebisi as acting governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in a statement by the presidency "sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy".

[92] The suspension and subsequent arrest of Emefiele by secret police on charges of terrorism financing is seen as not far removed from his ideological leanings and politicising of the apex bank with his initiatives in office such as arbitrage under the Buhari administration and a currency redesign of the Nigerian naira.

[93] However, some observers have noted the role of politics in Emefiele's suspension amid a clandestine raise in government debt borrowing ceiling from 5% to 15% through ways and means on the eve of the inauguration of President Tinubu.

[94] On the back of his suspension, the apex bank five days later on 14 June removed all foreign exchange trading restrictions and allowed the national currency to fall to its lowest ever on the market.

[96] Tinubu's financial reforms has been seen as surpassing the 1986 SAP regime in a bid to drastically overhaul the Nigerian economy and government finances since the return of democracy two decades prior.

[107] The appointment of Nuhu Ribadu, a former police officer, was viewed as a radical turn from the military establishment which has long dominated the state security apparatus of Nigeria.

[108] President Tinubu purged the leadership of the entire armed and paramilitary forces on 19 June retiring in the process over one hundred and fifty major generals.

[116] Having spent one month in office and with the conclusion of parliamentary leadership elections Tinubu is constrained by law to send ministerial nominations to the Senate for hearing before July 29.

[125][126] The World Bank and IMF have pointed out the need for the incoming government to establish macro-structural adjustments on the scale of the late 1980s reform to re-herald the Nigerian economy amidst a global slowdown.

[136][137][138] In April 2007, after the general elections, but before the governor-elect Babatunde Fashola had taken office, the Federal Government brought Tinubu before the Code of Conduct Bureau for trial over the alleged illegal operation of 16 separate foreign accounts.

[140] In September 2009, there were reports that the British Metropolitan Police were investigating a transaction in which the Lagos State government made an investment in Econet (now Airtel).

[141] The Federal Government rejected a request by Britain to release evidence needed for further investigation and prosecution of the three Nigerian ex-governors in a London court.