Bakare :Ex-gov pressuring me to join ADC, vows to resist another Akintola-Awolowo crisis in S’West

The founder of Citadel Global Community Church, Dr. Tunde Bakare, has revealed that he is facing intense pressure from key political figures to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Bakare made this known on Saturday during the maiden edition of the Citadel School of Governance Dialogue Series held in Oregun, Lagos, with the theme “Nigeria at 65: Historical Reflections, Futuristic Projection.”

Despite the persuasion, the cleric and former presidential aspirant ruled out any possibility of joining the ADC. He said several notable politicians, including a former governor and minister from the South-West, had reached out to him to align with the party.

“There has been a lot of pressure on me from who is who to join ADC. They come to my home. Even while I was abroad, the hierarchy of that party kept calling, saying they needed my voice,” Bakare said.

He added that one of his younger political associates—who had benefited from holding key positions within the All Progressives Congress (APC)—also encouraged him to lend his support to the ADC.

However, Bakare dismissed the calls, insisting he would not defect. “I am not going to take part in ADC. The last time I knew about ADC was about a plane that crashed. I wish them well, because we need a robust opposition. But you don’t birth a child called APC and then try to kill it yourself. We are not going to have another Awolowo–Akintola crisis in the South-West,” he stated.

Bakare, who played an instrumental role in the formation of the APC, also described President Bola Tinubu’s emergence as divinely orchestrated.

“If God wants to remove ‘emilokan,’ He knows how to do it. You can’t get the kind of thing Tinubu has brought without God’s support,” he added.
At the same event, guest speaker Professor Akinjide Osuntokun, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, identified corruption and tribalism as Nigeria’s most pressing challenges.

“The two problems our country faces are corruption and tribalism. If there is a way of eradicating these two evils, we will be alright. Corruption is the father or mother of tribalism. If the money being stolen was available for development, Nigeria would be far better.

“The fact that Tinubu is president does not automatically improve the life of an average Yoruba man, just as an Igbo presidency will not improve the life of the ordinary Igbo man if there is no development,” Osuntokun said.