2023: Pastor Tunde Bakare Declares For Presidency, Vows To Make Nigerians Proud

The founder of Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare has declared his intention to contest the presidency in the 2023 general elections.

Tunde Bakare Declares Presidential Ambition

The cleric declared his intention on Saturday at a Zoom event organized by the PTB4-Nigeria movement to unveil ‘Project 16’ to Nigerians in the diaspora.

Speaking on his plans if elected as president, Pastor Bakare said Nigerians will be proud to identify with their country because his administration will make the “New Nigeria” dream a reality.

He said, “The message is simply “A New Nigeria for Every Nigerian.” The sixteenth dispensation will be about making the New Nigeria the reality of every Nigerian. This is what the PTB brand stands for.

“It means that no part of our nation – North, South, East or West – should feel marginalised in Nigeria.

“It means that no matter where you are in the world, the power and wealth of the Nigerian nation will be deployed for your protection and benefit. It means that every Nigerian will be proud to say “I am a Nigerian.”

Pastor Bakare added that the current challenges facing the country remain an opportunity for the right individuals to take mantle of leadership in the country.

He said, “The factors that have thus far shaped our national trajectory are converging towards a tipping point. I am confident that “the darkest nights produce the brightest stars.”

“The worsening challenges that now confront us as a nation on the eve of the sixteenth dispensation are indicators of an opportunity for the emergence of stellar nation-builders at home and in the diaspora. Now is the time and this is the moment for such nation-builders to work towards one objective: the emergence of a New Nigeria.

“Inspired by my childhood dream and in line with my trajectory in bringing together the best of the North and the best of the South, it would be the honour and privilege of my life to facilitate this coalition of nation-builders as we collectively take the sixteenth step or leap towards the Nigeria of our dreams.

“As I have said in times past, the best dreams come to pass when you are awake. It is the dawn of a new day in Nigeria and I am willing and prepared to rise to the occasion.”

Pastor Bakare said his ambition is based on a first-hand understanding of the challenges faced by the average Nigerian.

While noting that his mandate will be founded on peace, progress, prosperity possibilities, he added that ‘Project 16’ is focused on his interest in becoming Nigeria’s 16th leader since the country gained independence in 1960.

Bakare said, “Against the backdrop of the prevailing state of the nation, we need a leader who can reconcile historical and current differences, reintegrate the various ethnic and religious constituent parts into true nationhood, and rebuild the broken walls of federalism while maximising Nigeria’s diverse, geo-economic economic potential.

“Project 16 is not just about me. It’s not just about the presidential ambition of any man. In any case, I do not have a self-generated ambition. What I do have is a vision of a new Nigeria that was birthed in me from childhood and an honest aspiration to serve as the 16th president of my beloved nation, Nigeria.

“Like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, my childhood, upbringing and life’s journey unfolded across various contexts. I understand that part of God’s purpose for Nigeria is the actualisation of the idea that Muslims and Christians, the north and the south, can come together as one great nation under God.

“Birthing the new Nigeria is the mission of the 16th administration. The new Nigeria is a nation where no one goes to bed hungry and no child is left out of school without access to quality education; where our homes, schools, streets, highways and villages are safe and secure and Nigerians can work, play or travel with their minds at rest and go to bed with their hearts at peace.

“[It’s] a Nigeria where our hospitals are life-saving institutions and every Nigerian has access to good, quality healthcare; where no youth is unemployed and our young men and women and job creators; where businesses thrive on innovation and made-in-Nigeria can compete anywhere in the global market; where homes and businesses have access to clean and uninterrupted power supply and ideas are facilitated by functional infrastructure and cutting-edge technology.”

This comes a few months after Pastor Tunde Bakare, who described himself as a nation builder, said he would contest the 2023 presidential election only if God and Nigerians want him to.