Pastor Tunde Bakare, founder of the Global Community Citadel Church and former presidential hopeful, has delivered a searing criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.
The branded Tinubu’s administration as a continuation of “motor park politics” and cautioning of a looming uprising if the government does not take urgent corrective measures.
Speaking during an Easter sermon on Sunday, April 20, at his Lagos church, Bakare did not mince words.
He accused Tinubu’s administration of worsening Nigeria’s already fragile economy and security landscape.
“Fellow citizens, at the centre of this political banditry, is the motor park brand of politics nurtured by the old brigade politicians and, in recent times, by President Bola Tinubu,” he declared.
“Those responsible for steering the course of our nation lack the humility and character this moment demands… What we have seen since the beginning of the year is a descent into tyranny and the brazen abuse of power.”
He referenced a July 2024 Financial Times report that painted a grim picture of Nigeria’s economic collapse, saying the naira’s plummet under Tinubu’s watch has led to spiralling inflation and pushed millions deeper into poverty.
“These measures have pushed tens of millions of already impoverished people deeper into misery,” Bakare quoted from the report.
Recalling his involvement in the 2012 Occupy Nigeria movement, Bakare hinted that public patience was reaching its limit.
“People of faith have prayed to the point of weariness, and any call for prayer now appears to be a mere religious ritual,” he said.
“Some have concluded that we have prayed long enough and that unless certain pragmatic steps are taken with immediate effect, the rage of the poor may engineer social, economic, and political worst-case scenarios.”
Bakare also blasted the National Assembly, accusing it of operating as a mere extension of the presidency.
“Mr. President, it is through your influence that the Nigerian National Assembly has become a haven for legislative rascality,” he said.
“This National Assembly, the Tenth, has by its unconstitutional endorsement of the President’s abuse of powers proven to be the most spineless in our recent history.”
He further alleged that a minister had essentially taken over as a de facto third-term governor in Rivers State, backed by Tinubu’s indulgence.
Bakare concluded by urging Tinubu to cleanse his cabinet of underperformers and appoint credible individuals with proven records of accountability and transparency.