Dr. Tunde Bakare, founder of Citadel Global Community Church, has turned down mounting pressure from political stakeholders to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Despite repeated approaches from prominent figures, including a former governor and minister from the South-West, Bakare remains loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC), a party he helped establish.
Speaking at the Citadel School of Governance Dialogue Series in Lagos, Bakare disclosed that ADC’s hierarchy had been calling him, even while he was abroad, to solicit his support. A younger political associate, who held key positions in the APC, also encouraged him to join the ADC. However, Bakare was resolute in his decision, stating, “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 robust opposition. But you don’t birth a child called APC and then try to kill it yourself”.
Bakare emphasized his commitment to the APC, citing his involvement in the party’s formation. He also expressed his belief that President Bola Tinubu’s emergence was divinely ordained, saying, “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” .
Professor Akinjide Osuntokun, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, also spoke at the event, highlighting corruption and tribalism as Nigeria’s most pressing issues. “Corruption is the father or mother of tribalism. If the money being stolen was available for development, Nigeria would be far better,” he said. Osuntokun emphasized that good governance, not ethnicity, should be the focus, adding that “the fact that Tinubu is president does not automatically improve the life of an average Yoruba man, just as an Igbo presidency will not improve the life of the ordinary Igbo man if there is no development” .
