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Tinubu Will Never Be ‘My President’, Vows Tunde Bakare

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The Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said he will never call the President-elect Bola Tinubu, his president.

The cleric cum politician, during a webinar on Saturday, alleged a series of malpractices during the 2023 elections, saying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) made a mess of the electioneering process.

He said this while responding during a Question & Answer session after delivering his speech on the Zoom programme titled ‘Building the New Nigeria: The Role of the Diaspora’ organised by the PTB4Nigeria In Diaspora Group.

The meeting, which began 7pm and was monitored by our correspondent, had over 200 participants.

While speaking earlier during the programme, he said the 2023 elections were below acceptable standards.

Asked if he would be happy to work for the new government as a Minister of Diaspora Engagements, the cleric laughed, and said he would say what he said to President Muhammadu Buhari last week.

Bakare said he told Buhari that sometimes he called him President of Nigeria and other times, he called him “My President.”

“Last Wednesday, I was at the Glass House where he (Buhari) has been restricted now because the main house is being renovated. I said I have done that for you.

“I want you to know that, because of the circumstances of your flying into power on the wings of integrity and incorruptibility, but you’re now passing onto someone who does not have that value,” he said.

He said that at “any public lecture anywhere, before this mess is cleared off, I will address Asiwaju (Tinubu) as a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but I will never call him my president.”

He said he did not participate in the elections, and therefore, no one could say he lost.

Bakare, who participated in the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary in June 2022, where nomination forms were sold for N100 million, polled no single vote.

Briefly touching this, he said: “I participated in the primary, and there were hundreds (of persons) who participated only by stepping down, so there is no shame in what we have done. We spoke truth to power within seven minutes.”

“I wasn’t there when they voted, I wasn’t there when they scored (me) zero, but we won that badge of zero and badge of honour,” he said, adding that this was because some defeats that were more triumphant than victories.

Answering the question, he said if he was called to be a minister under the incoming government, there would be conditions to it, “but I am not desperate to be a minister, not at all. I was offered before but I turned it down. My life is not just to take photographs with the president and shake hands.

“But we will do if it will benefit even one citizen.”

Tinubu will on Monday, May 29, be sworn in as the President of the country.

On Thursday, Tinubu was handed the transition report by Buhari, where he also promised not to disappoint Nigerians.

He pledged to address the security and power crises, among other challenges confronting the country.

 

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Trump Orders Pentagon to Protect Nigerian Christians Under ISIS attack

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US President, Donald Trump, has ordered the Pentagon – headquarters of the United States Department of Defense – to prioritize the protection of Christians targeted by ISIS terrorists in Nigeria.

U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, disclosed this on Wednesday while stressing that the mission has quietly led to the killing of ISIS’ second-in-command in Nigeria.

Speaking during a cabinet meeting chaired by President Trump at the White House, Hegseth said:

“To give you a sense of how committed this president is (referring to President Trump), maybe, a year ago, he heard the call of Nigerian Christians who are being targeted and killed by ISIS in Nigeria.

“He said, Pete, I want the war department to focus on ensuring that we do whatever we can to protect those Christians”.

He further said: “Partnerships like that can take some time behind the scenes, but he never wavered on it. We got the assets there over the last month. There has not been much coverage of this”.

He added that U.S. intelligence gathered during the operation helped lead to the deaths of “hundreds” of ISIS fighters tied to attacks on Christians and threats against the U.S. homeland.

“We killed ISIS’ number two in Nigeria, who is most responsible for killing Christians and trying to target U.S. homeland.

“There’s a lot of things we do that the media pays attention to, and a lot of things that the president empowers the Department to do on behalf of the American people, that he deserves great credit for,” Hegseth concluded.

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I Can’t Be Intimidated, VeryDarkMan Tells Presidency over Alleged Tinubu Viral Audio

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Controversial social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse aka VeryDarkMan (VDM), has reacted strongly to allegations surrounding the circulation of an alleged audio involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

VDM spoke in a lengthy video posted on social media after comments credited to presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, accused him of disseminating a fake audio related to the President.

In the video, VDM claimed he began receiving several calls warning him not to return to Nigeria following the controversy surrounding the audio clip.

According to him, some associates advised him to remain abroad over fears that he could be arrested upon his return to the country.

Reacting to the development, VDM denied any wrongdoing and insisted that he had the constitutional right to criticise the government and comment on national issues.

He accused government officials of paying more attention to critics on social media instead of addressing pressing security challenges confronting the country.

The activist also criticised the Federal government over insecurity, kidnappings and economic hardship, arguing that Nigerians were facing difficult living conditions across the country.

VDM further alleged that some individuals were attempting to create a narrative to justify possible actions against him because of his criticism of the administration.

He maintained that he would continue speaking on issues affecting Nigerians, particularly insecurity and governance.

During the emotional video, the social commentator repeatedly questioned why government officials were allegedly more vocal about online controversies than incidents of bandit attacks and kidnappings.

He also urged Nigerians to participate actively in the 2027 general elections, insisting that citizens must make decisions based on the performance of political leaders.

The controversy followed comments attributed to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, who reportedly stated that VDM should “face the weight of the law” over the alleged circulation of fake audio involving the President.

As of the time of filing this report, there was no official confirmation from security agencies regarding any planned action against the activist.

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ADC Declares Atiku Abubakar Winner of Presidential Primary

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By Eric Elezuo

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been declared winner of the presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The declaration was made at the Trascorp Hilton Hotel, where the final collation of results was made.

The former Vice President polled a total of 1, 846, 370 votes to defeat his closest rival, former Governor of Rivers State, Hon Rotimi Amaechi, who scored just over 500 thousand votes. Alhaji Muhammed Hayatu-Deen came third.

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