Nigerians Reacts As Tunde Bakare Vows He Will Never Call Tinubu “My President”

The  Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare has vowed that he won’t refer to President-elect Bola Tinubu as his president.

The cleric stated this on Saturday during a webinar titled ‘Building the New Nigeria: The Role of the Diaspora,’  organized by the PTB4Nigeria In Diaspora Group and monitored by over 200 participants.

Pastor Tunde Bakare highlighted alleged malpractices during the 2023 elections and criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for mishandling the electoral process.

When asked about the possibility of working as a Minister of Diaspora Engagements under the new government during a Q&A session, Bakare humorously recalled his recent conversation with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Bakare laughed and revealed that he told President Buhari that while he might address Tinubu as the President of Nigeria in public, he would never consider him his president.

He said, “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 said that at “any public lecture anywhere, before this mess is cleared off, I will address Asiwaju (Tinubu) as a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but I will never call him my president.”

Answering the question, he said if he was called to be a minister under the incoming government, there would be conditions to it, “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.”

But Bakare’s declaration that he will not acknowledge Tinubu as his president has sparked diverse reactions among Nigerians, further fueling the ongoing conversation surrounding the importance of unity, respect for elected leaders, and the need for constructive dialogue to address the nation’s challenges.

See some reactions below:

Meanwhile, the Former President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta has charged Bola Tinubu to unite every Nigerian irrespective of religion, tribe, political and other affiliations now that the elections are over.