From an accountant in Chicago to governor of Lagos and, since 2023, President of Nigeria — Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been one of the most powerful political figures in the country for a quarter of a century. Here is his story, his record in office and where he stands ahead of the 2027 election.
Quick facts
| Full name | Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 March 1952, Lagos (official record; the year has been disputed by opponents) |
| Office | 16th President of Nigeria (since 29 May 2023) |
| Party | All Progressives Congress (APC) |
| Previous offices | Governor of Lagos State (1999–2007); Senator, Lagos West (1992–1993) |
| Education | B.S. Business Administration, Chicago State University (1979) |
| Titles | Asiwaju of Lagos; Jagaban of Borgu; GCFR |
| Spouse | Senator Oluremi Tinubu |
| 2027 | APC presidential candidate, with Kashim Shettima as running mate |
Early life and education
Tinubu was born in Lagos into a Yoruba Muslim family. His mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, was a well-known market leader who later became Iyaloja-General of Lagos — a link to grassroots trading networks that would later shape his politics.
In the mid-1970s he travelled to the United States, studied first at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago and then at Chicago State University, where he graduated in 1979 with a degree in business administration (accounting). Questions about some of his early school records were raised by opponents over the years; they were argued in court after the 2023 election, and the courts upheld his victory.
Corporate career
Before politics, Tinubu worked as an accountant and auditor with international firms, including Arthur Andersen and Deloitte, and with GTE Services Corporation in the US. He returned to Nigeria to join Mobil Producing Nigeria, where he rose to senior management and served as the company’s treasurer. That background in finance is a big part of how his supporters describe him: a numbers man who understands how money moves.
Into politics: the Senate and the June 12 struggle
Tinubu entered politics during the Third Republic and was elected Senator for Lagos West on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1992, where he chaired the committee on banking and finance. When the 12 June 1993 presidential election was annulled and General Sani Abacha later took power, the Senate was dissolved.
He became a founding member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), the pro-democracy group that campaigned for the annulled mandate of M.K.O. Abiola. After arrests and threats, he went into exile in 1994 and returned in 1998 after Abacha’s death.
Governor of Lagos (1999–2007)
Tinubu won the Lagos governorship in 1999 on the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform and was re-elected in 2003. His eight years are remembered for:
- Building up Lagos State’s own revenue (internally generated revenue) so the state depended less on monthly federal allocations;
- Creating 37 new Local Council Development Areas — a move that led to a long fight with the federal government over withheld local government funds, which went all the way to the Supreme Court;
- Investing in roads and transport planning, and assembling a team of technocrats — several of whom, including Babatunde Fashola, later became major figures.
He left office in 2007 but remained the most influential political leader in Lagos and much of the South-West.
The party builder
After the AD, Tinubu led the Action Congress (later Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN). In 2013 the ACN merged with the CPC, ANPP and part of APGA to form the All Progressives Congress (APC). That coalition defeated an incumbent president for the first time in Nigeria’s history in 2015, bringing Muhammadu Buhari to power — and Tinubu was widely seen as one of its chief architects.
The 2023 election
With the slogan “Emi lokan” (“It is my turn”), Tinubu won the APC primary in June 2022 and chose Kashim Shettima, former governor of Borno State, as his running mate. On 1 March 2023 INEC declared him winner with 8,794,726 votes (36.6%), ahead of Atiku Abubakar (PDP) and Peter Obi (Labour Party). Both challenged the result in court; the Supreme Court upheld his election in October 2023.
