Pastor Bakare attacks APC, Tinubu’s economic policies as anti-people

Pastor Bakare attacks APC, Tinubu’s economic policies as anti-people

Senior Pastor of Citadel Global Community Church, Tunde Bakare, says policies of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government are anti-people.

He said the policies have caused much economic hardship to the citizens, stressing that the February 25 election showed that Nigerians were tired of the ruling party.

He spoke Sunday on the theme “Vice, virtue and time: The three things that shall never stand still” at the church auditorium, in Lagos. Bakare said President Bola Tinubu’s actions, since assuming office had been impulsive and worsened the economy.

For instance, he noted that the fuel subsidy removal by Tinubu had taken a heavy toll on Nigerians just and challenged the President to tackle corruption and not compound the woes of Nigerians.

“Mr President, kill corruption, and not Nigerians. No economy can thrive on impunity,” he said.

Bakare also said, “I salute the Nigerian citizen who has, for so long a time, borne the brunt of the capricious policies of political actors and the greed of a colluding elite. From a wrongly implemented naira redesign policy to an impulsive fuel subsidy removal announcement and from a drowning of purchasing power in an attempt to float the naira, to an unbearable increase in the cost of basic amenities, the past and recent months have been particularly excruciating for the Nigerian citizen.

“I must sound a warning to the APC. I was there when the APC was formed and the extent of my involvement is well-documented. As a stakeholder and more importantly, as a nation-builder, I am obligated to state without equivocation that this is not the APC we envisaged. The results of the last elections were a clear indication that Nigerians are fed up with what the APC has become… when I consider the vision and founding spirit that birthed the APC, I cannot but conclude that the APC is losing the plot.”

According to him, recent data from the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) indicated that about four million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country have shut down in the two months since the subsidy removal.

Bakare said what was clear concerning Nigeria’s domestic challenges is that, by imposing hardship on Nigerians without going after corrupt individuals, corporations and government officials who have plundered Nigeria over the years in the name of subsidy, the president has picked the wrong fight.

He also spoke on the handling of the military takeover of power in Niger Republic.

“This same impulsive leadership style was evident when the President recently led the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to violate an ancient principle of diplomacy that is recognised even in the Holy Book: offer peace before declaring war.

“By placing a military invasion on the table from the very start before subsequently exploring diplomatic options with the coup plotters in the Republic of Niger, President Tinubu put the cart before the horse, thus placing Nigeria and the sub-region in a precarious situation.”