Prominent Southwest Pastor Rejects Tinubu, Gives Crucial Reason

• After losing the APC presidential primary to Tinubu, Pastor Tunde Bakare has thrown shade at the former Lagos state governor
• The presiding overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church said good politicians do not ask others to answer questions directed at them
• Also making reference to the Yoruba word ‘Emi lokan” popularised by Tinubu, Pastor Bakare said politics of entitlement is bad

In what appears to be directed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, Pastor Tunde Bakare, says good politicians do not ask others to answer questions directed at them.

The presiding overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (formerly Latter Rain Assembly) said this in his state-of-the-nation address on Sunday, January 15.

Daily Trust noted that though the pastor did not mention Tinubu's name, he gave several instances that showed he was referring to the APC presidential candidate.

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For instance, during Tinubu's presentation at Chatham House, London, in 2022, some members of the audience asked the APC flagbearer some questions bordering on insecurity, oil theft, education and economy and how he planned to address crises in those areas if he won the 2023 presidential election.

The former Lagos governor, however, assigned Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state, former Commissioner for Finance in Lagos state, Wale Edun, and the Director of Strategic Communication of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Aleke, to respond to the questions,

Tinubu was berated for delegating others to answer the questions as many questioned his capacity to lead the most populous African country.

The APC presidential campaign, however, defended Tinubu, saying what he did show he was ready to run an inclusive government if elected.

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Emi lokan: Pastor Bakare tackles politics of entitlement

Speaking further, Bakare warned against the politics of entitlement, describing it as bad.

The respected Christian cleric also made reference to the Yoruba word, ‘Emi lokan”, meaning it is my turn.

Emi lokan became a popular political slogan after Tinubu used it while urging the APC delegates to support him in the party's presidential primary.

Pastor Bakare was one of the aspirants Tinubu eventually defeated in the primary.

The cleric said politicians with a sense of entitlement evade political debate and fail to address the Nigerians they seek to serve.

He also asked Nigerians to reject vote buyers in the 2023 election and called for the entrenchment of good politics which focuses on issues of development.

His words:

“This ’emi lo kan’ politics that insists on one’s turn, even if circumstances do not align, is bad. Politics of entitlement also manifests as perennial candidacy, not with the intent to serve, but to gratify long personal ambitions.

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"It could also manifest as insistence on a given political office as a reward for what one considers a lifetime of sacrifice to the nation. Politicians with a sense of entitlement evade political debates and do not consider it imperative to communicate with the electorate.”

Pastor Bakare warned that a president who emerged from entitlement politics will be distant from the people and may end up being a dictator.

Pastor Tunde Bakare reveals how he got money to purchase N100M APC presidential forms

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Pastor Bakare cleared some of the misconceptions about how he and other presidential aspirants of the APC got money to purchase their forms.

In an interview, Bakare said he never expected that the forms would cost more than N50 million.

He, however, added that he understood that the price was fixed for the purchase of the forms by APC executives as part of efforts to make the party “formidable”.

Source: Legit.ng