A former presidential hopeful for the Congress of All Progressives, Tunde Bakarehe has said he lost the party’s ticket in the primary because he refused to compromise his values.
Mr. Bakare spoke during the Sunday service at Citadel Global Community, the Ikeja, Lagos-based church that he founded.
He received zero votes in the party’s presidential primary, which was held June 6-8 in Eagle’s Square, Abuja.
A former Lagos governor and national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, beat all other contenders for the nomination, obtaining 1,217 delegate votes.
Former Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo got 316 votes and 235 votes to finish second and third respectively.
Mr Bakare; the former governor of Imo, Rochas Okorocha; former information minister Ikeobasi Mokelu; and the industrialist, Tein Jack-Rich, got zero votes.
The hopefuls paid 100 million naira each for the presidential ticket.
Standing before his congregation on Sunday, Mr. Bakare received a thunderous ovation.
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“Our heads remain high because we do not compromise the values that are integral to building a New Nigeria. For us, the means has always been as important as the end,” she said.
“That’s why we confidently wear our ‘zero votes’ as a badge of zero tolerance for a certain kind of politics.”
Bakare insisted to the cheering congregation that he would become president on May 29, 2023.
His words drew another round of applause from the congregation.
“Our confidence is rooted in Daniel 4:17 (The angels announce this decree, the holy watchmen bring this sentence so that all the living may know that the Most High God rules the human kingdoms. He arranges the affairs of the kingdom as He wills and converts the losers into leaders. It is for God Almighty that I will ultimately do it).”
The cleric also congratulated Tinubu on his victory in the primary, but added: “I am the next president on May 29, 2023.”
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