Pastor Tunde Bakare, who doubles as a cleric and politician has said though he will always refer to President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he will never refer to him, as his President.
The founder of Citadel Global Community Church who said this during a webinar on Saturday, also said Tinubu lacks integrity and incorruptibility values, hence his decision.
The 7pm webinar titled “Building the New Nigeria: The Role of the Diaspora” organised by the PTB4Nigeria In Diaspora Group on Zoom, had over 200 participants in attendance with Bakare as a speaker.
Delivering his speech earlier, Bakare said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) made a mess of the electioneering process that produced Tinubu as the president-elect.
According to him, there were lots of election malpractices in the 2023 presidential election and the election was below acceptable standard.
During the question and answer session, the cleric was asked how he feels about the incoming administration.
Responding, Bakare laughed and said “I will say what I said to President Muhammadu Buhari last week.
“I told Buhari that sometimes I call him President of Nigeria and other times, I call him my President.
“Last Wednesday, I was at the Glass House where he (Buhari) has been restricted now because the main house is being renovated.
“I said I have done that for you. I want you to know that, because of the circumstances of your flying into power on the wings of integrity and incorruptibility, but you’re now passing onto someone who does not have that value.”
The cleric reiterated, “at any public lecture anywhere, before this mess is cleared off, I will address Asiwaju as a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but I will never call him my president.”
Bakare, who purchased the All Progressives Congress (APC) N100m presidential form and participated in the primary that was held in June 2022, but polled no single vote was asked if he was sounding this way because he lost the election.
Bakare while responding denied participating in the election. He said: “I participated in the primary, and there were hundreds (of persons) who participated only by stepping down, so there is no shame in what we have done. We spoke truth to power within seven minutes.
“I wasn’t there when they voted, I wasn’t there when they scored me zero, but we won that badge of zero and badge of honour.
“Nobody can say I lost because some defeats are more triumphant than victories.”
Asked if he would serve, and be happy to work for the new government as a Minister of Diaspora Engagements, if he was called to be a minister under the incoming government.
Responding, the cleric said though he is not desperate to became a minister, he would accept the call to serve.
He said: “But I am not desperate to be a minister, not at all. I was offered before but I turned it down. My life is not just to take photographs with the president and shake hands.
“But we will do if it will benefit even one citizen.”
The President-elect will be sworn-in on Monday, May 29.