Pastor Tunde Bakare, Citadel Global Community Church, CGCC, has come out to explicitly denounce earlier statement that went viral, purportedly endorsing former Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, while also attacking the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN’s opposition of his same faith ticket.
In a clear rebuttal made on a letter head of the CGCC, Bakare discribed the said statement credited to him as rediculous, while also calling the authors of the statement unscrupulous.
“Amongst other things, I was quoted to have said that the agitations by the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, were ploys by the opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to force a weak candidate on APC,” he summarised the content of the statement being rebutted.
Going further, he said:
“In addition to this, I was alleged to have said that CAN wanted to lure APC into presenting a weak candidate.
“The spurious writers also alleged that I stressed that Christians are righteous people who behave like Christ, and that CAN are politicians who behave like PDP.
“As if the poorly strewn lies were not enough, I was quoted as saying that Tinubu is my candidate.
“Isn’t this the same Tinubu that I announced to all and sundry at the APC Presidential Convention that I was not stepping down for? He has suddenly become my candidate!
“I wish to state unequivocally that the statements are absolute lies. There was no where I granted anyone any interview, or preached on any platform, where I said the ludicrous statements.
“I challenge anyone who is in possession of the video or audio file of the statements to please put it in the public space.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I am a nation builder who will not in any way create real or imaginary division among the people of our great country, through the medium of political parties or religion.”
He also urged the public to disregard disregard the alleged statements.
The said statement emanated from a certain individual called Ayekooto Akindele on his social media handle.
Another handle, Rasak Olokooba, who like Ayekooto are known Tinubu followers believed to be close to the workings of the former Lagos State governor’s inner political cacaus.
Instructively, though, there has been clarifications that the earlier statement were Ayekooto’s comment and not that of Bakare.
Media platforms were encouraged to publish the story given that the said publications tallied with notorious facts about Pastor Bakare’s political posturing in the past concerning Tinubu and other controversial issues.