Founder of the Citadel Global Community Church, Dr. Tunde Bakare, has revealed that he is facing mounting pressure from political figures urging him to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Speaking on Saturday during the maiden edition of the Citadel School of Governance Dialogue Series titled “Nigeria at 65: Historical Reflections, Futuristic Projection” in Oregun, Lagos, Bakare confirmed that prominent politicians, including a former South-West governor and minister, had approached him to align with the ADC.
“There has been a lot of pressure on me from notable figures to join ADC. They come to my home. Even while I was abroad, the party’s hierarchy kept calling, saying they needed my voice,” he said.
He noted that one of his younger associates, who had held key positions in the All Progressives Congress (APC), also encouraged him to support the ADC. However, Bakare dismissed the proposal, stressing that he would not abandon the APC he helped to establish.
“I am not going to take part in ADC. The last time I knew about ADC was about a plane that crashed. I wish them well because we need a strong opposition. But you don’t give birth to a child called APC and then try to kill it yourself. We are not going to have another Awolowo–Akintola crisis in the South-West,” he said.
The cleric, who was instrumental in the formation of the APC, further asserted that President Bola Tinubu’s rise to power was an act of divine providence.
“If God wants to remove ‘emilokan,’ He knows how to do it. You can’t get the kind of thing Tinubu has brought without God’s support,” Bakare stated.
In his remarks, guest speaker Professor Akinjide Osuntokun, former Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, identified corruption and tribalism as the nation’s biggest challenges.
According to him, “The two problems our country faces are corruption and tribalism. If these two evils are eradicated, Nigeria will be fine. Corruption is the root of tribalism. If the stolen funds were used for development, Nigeria would be far better.
“The ethnicity of the president should not matter; good governance is what truly counts,” he added.
