Pastor Tunde Bakare has explained why he is yet to decide whether or not to join the All Progressive Congress (APC), stating that the coalition and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) “smell alike.”
Bakare, a former running mate to Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) under the defunct Congress of Progressive Change (CPC), says the vision of the APC is still unclear.
Bakare said: “You look at both political parties today, everyone in PDP is not a devil and everyone in APC is not an Angel. They are beginning to smell and look alike; but maybe when they begin to bring their programmes out, we will be able to compare which is better than the other. Until then, we can’t see anything now, other than a lot of jamboree.”
He went ahead to say he would have preferred Buhari to run for president as an independent candidate. But unfortunately that cannot be achieved because the Nigerian constitutionor the electoral act does not make room for that, he says.
“Buhari is a man of honour, virtue and integrity. And I have wished he could be an independent candidate, but he has to function in a political party”, he said.
Bakare went ahead to say a prayer for Buhari: “I just pray that there will be no hangers-on that will begin to tamper with his integrity, because, after all, one tree does not make a forest. If you are not planting the seed and watering it, in no time the rod of the wicked could come upon the righteous and the righteous will have no choice but to put their hands into iniquity. God forbid, I pray that does not happen to him. It is better for him to stand tall and stand erect for the rest of his life than get compromised by men of easy virtue.”
He however pointed out that APC is evolving and he is waiting to see if it will be worth his investment.
Bakare said: “APC is evolving. I am not an official, so I don’t speak for them. The people who are speaking are speaking, while those who are working are working. I am one person that will think before I act and I investigate before I invest. When the time comes for me to play any significant role, I will decide, because if there are only two political parties, you have to choose one. If that time ever comes, I will tell you where I am. But until then, I am on the side of God Almighty, watching over situations in the country and being able to direct people, telling them ‘this is the way to go.”
