The general overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, formerly known as the Latter Rain Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to tackle the problem of corruption rather than implementing ‘anti-people’ economic policies that are killing Nigerians.

Bakare speaking in his Church auditorium on Sunday in Ikeja, Lagos, on the theme ‘Vice, virtue and time: The three things that shall never stand still, expressed optimism that God will move into Nigeria despite the suffering and hardship being faced by the people since fuel subsidy was removed by the federal government were excruciating. In his State of the Nation broadcast he said “Today will mark the time, day, and season that God intervened in Nigeria’s affairs.”

Pastor Bakare condemns the idea of going to war with the Niger Republic, the fuel subsidy removal, and its harsh economic impact. The cleric said, “While we condemn the coup d’etat in West Africa, we recognize that the situation calls for deep, introspection on the part of African leaders. “We call upon Nigeria at this time to provide good leadership. The real question is whether President Tinubu has the capacity to provide moral leadership even in the domestic context.”

Bakare, who contested the 2022 presidential primary of the APC, said he joined forces with others to form the APC but the party has deviated from the principles it was founded on. According to Bakare, the APC has now become a platform for politicians “with no ideology”, who moved from one party to the other to seek power at all costs. “The APC stood for progressivism characterized by substantial positive investment in social sectors such as education and healthcare and it achieved inclusiveness and social mobility,” he added. Bakare stressed that what the party stood for has changed over time, saying this has changed over time given the current economic hardship being faced by many Nigerians which he said is a result of “anti-people policies” of the government.