‘They Keep Calling Me’: Tunde Bakare Says ADC Leaders Are Pressuring Him To Join Party

“They Keep Calling Me”: Tunde Bakare Reveals Pressure from ADC Leaders to Join Party

In a striking revelation during the maiden edition of the Citadel School of Governance Dialogue Series held in Oregun, Lagos, Pastor Tunde Bakare, founder of the Citadel Global Community Church, disclosed that he has been under persistent pressure from prominent political figures to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The event, themed “Nigeria at 65: Historical Reflections, Futuristic Projection,” served as a platform for Bakare to address the mounting calls from political stakeholders urging him to align with the opposition party.

Bakare stated that the pressure has come from high-ranking individuals, including a former governor and a former minister from the South-West region. He emphasized that these figures have gone as far as visiting his home and reaching out to him even while he was abroad, insisting that his voice is needed within the ADC.

Despite this, Bakare firmly ruled out any possibility of joining the party. He remarked that the last time he heard of ADC was in connection with a plane crash, subtly dismissing the party’s relevance in his political trajectory.

The cleric, who played a pivotal role in the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), expressed his loyalty to the party he helped birth. He argued that it would be unwise to undermine the APC, likening such a move to a betrayal of one’s own creation. Bakare warned against repeating historical political crises in the South-West, referencing the Awolowo–Akintola conflict as a cautionary tale.

In his speech, Bakare also touched on the emergence of President Bola Tinubu, asserting that Tinubu’s rise to power was divinely orchestrated. He stated that such a political outcome could not have occurred without divine support, adding, “If God wants to remove ‘emilokan,’ He knows how to do it.”

The backdrop to this political pressure is the recent consolidation of opposition forces ahead of the 2027 elections. A coalition of dissatisfied leaders, including Atiku Abubakar, Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, and others, have adopted the ADC as their unified platform.

This decision followed months of consultations and a strategic pivot away from registering a new party, the All Democratic Alliance (ADA). The ADC’s existing legal status and perceived neutrality made it an attractive vessel for opposition figures from various backgrounds.

Despite Bakare’s refusal to join the ADC, he expressed goodwill toward the party and acknowledged the importance of a robust opposition in Nigeria’s political landscape.

However, his commitment to the APC remains unwavering, underscoring his belief in the party’s foundational ideals and his reluctance to abandon them for political expediency.