By Akinwale Kasali
Criticisms have continued to trail the purchase of the N100m All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Expression and Nomination forms by the Founding Overseer of Citadel Global Community Church, CGCC, Pastor Tunde Bakare.
The former Vice Presidential Candidate to President Muhammadu Buhari under the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, in 2011, threw his hat into the Presidential race, and thus, joined the long list of aspirants that have indicated interest in running for the Presidential race in 2023.
The Convener of the Save Nigeria Group, SNG, picked the Nomination Form at the APC headquarters in Abuja, and released his letter of invitation to his formal declaration in the nation’s capital, Abuja, slated for May 9th, 2022.
Ndubuisi Anakwe, a Social Commentator expressed his disappointment in the move by the revered Pastor.
Anakwe queried how Bakare amassed such wealth to have purchased the form at a whopping N100m despite owing Banks huge sums of money for the building of his Church.
“It saddens me how religious leaders tend to delve into politics, deceiving people by bringing religion into politics. Pastor Bakare has had in eyes in politics, he shouldn’t use religion to deceive people by saying God called him to join the Presidential race, we are used to all this their gimmicks.
“We all remembered Pastor Chris Okotie, who is no where to be found now. I now understand why he has been against the South East clamour for Presidency, bringing up cock and bull stories. Nigerians shouldn’t be deceived by this people”, he said.
Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele fired a salvo at Pastor Bakare describing him as a comedian who is trying to delve into the arena of prophecy he knows little or nothing about, specifically on his Presidential aspiration.
It would be recalled that Primate Ayodele had earlier frowned at the remarks of Bakare on the a 2023 Presidential Election, indicating interest to run, saying that Pastor Bakare should face his missionary work and stop mismanaging the grace of God upon his life and stop calling himself a Nation builder.
However, Ayodele noted that Bakare cannot win an election in his church not to talk of winning an election in Nigeria.
Below is an official invitation sent by Pastor Bakare for his official Presidential declaration.
AN INVITATION TO THE OFFICIAL DECLARATION OF ‘TUNDE BAKARE’S INTENTION TO CONTEST FOR THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE PLATFORM OF THE ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC)
Having been privileged to serve Nigeria in various nation building capacities, I intend to take a step further in the service of our beloved country and of you, her worthy citizens, by running for the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It is with utmost humility, therefore, that I write to formally inform you distinguished citizens of our nation, elder statesmen and stateswomen, political leaders, traditional leaders, overseers of religious establishments, members of civil society, policy makers, students, public servants from the national and sub-national levels of government, stakeholders from the private sector, the intelligentsia, opinion moulders, thought leaders from various institutions of knowledge, and every Nigerian, home and abroad – of my intention to contest.
Propelled by the desire to rebuild Nigeria into a nation that works for every Nigerian, I have, in the past, engaged the political process as running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 presidential elections under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and subsequently as the founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who moved the motion for the merger that produced the APC. I have also served as a leader in the civic space as the Convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), a coalition of civil society groups that facilitated the rightful recognition of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, first as Acting President, and then as substantive president, through a grassroots people movement and high-level advocacy.
In 2014, it was my privilege to be selected as a Southwest Delegate to the National Conference, where I proposed “The Nigerian Charter for National Reconciliation and Integration” that was unanimously adopted and incorporated into the final report.
Furthermore, I have been actively involved in awakening collective citizen ownership through the pulpit as the founding Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), formerly known as The Latter Rain Assembly. I have, in addition, contributed to engendering social, political and economic shifts in Nigeria through propositional platforms, including through such initiatives as the New Nigeria Dialogues, the inaugural event of a think-tank I founded in 2009. I have also provided pro bono advisory services to government institutions through key policy inputs, while fostering coalition-building across divides, in addition to building thriving businesses in diverse sectors. I have remained committed to harnessing my local and international networks, platforms and resources towards the emergence of the New Nigeria.
As I offer myself to serve you and to work with you towards the peace, progress and prosperity of Nigeria, as well as the realisation of the enormous possibilities of a great nation in this decade, it would be a great privilege to welcome you as my special guest on the occasion of the formal declaration of intent.”
