Former Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, has thrown a challenge to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, expressing his readiness to compete with the Nigerian leader in a Quranic recitation contest.
Melaye made the challenge in a post shared on his X account on Monday, November 2, 2026, shortly after reports emerged about Tinubu’s religious activities in Saudi Arabia.
The President is currently in the holy city of Makkah for the lesser Hajj, also known as Umrah, where he reportedly visited the Holy Ka’abah.
Details of Tinubu’s spiritual visit were earlier made public by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who shared updates about the President’s activities in the holy city.
Reacting to the reports, Melaye declared that he was prepared to test his knowledge of Quranic citations against Tinubu once the President returned from Saudi Arabia.
In his words:
“Now that Alhaji Bola Tinubu is in Umrah. Immediately he comes back, I challenge him to a Quranic citation competition with me. No one can mock God. SDM.”
The former lawmaker’s statement has attracted attention, with his proposed contest coming amid public discussions surrounding Tinubu’s religious activities in Saudi Arabia.
However, Melaye did not disclose any specific arrangements or date for the proposed competition.
As of the time of filing this report, President Tinubu had not publicly reacted to the challenge.
See screenshot of post below:
