The General Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, on Sunday, April 5, 2015 advised the President-Elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to avoid appointing persons with questionable character as he braces up to serve the nation.
Bakare, 60, made this call during a speech in Lagos tagged, ‘Democracy audit: chances, choices and consequences’ where he pointed out that some of the brains behind Buhari’s victory fell under the category of people whose character is questionable.
He lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for accepting fate and commended the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega for his “comportment in the face of grave accusation and provocation.”
He urged Buhari to start the fight against corruption from his circle and lay a good example, saying change cannot be achieved if these were not done.
He said, “I congratulate Nigerians; we have chosen a man of integrity as our President. But integrity is not enough to run a government.
“May the good Lord surround the President-elect with men and women of goodwill, great intellectual capacity, competence and character to help restore our wasted years.
“I pray sincerely that not all those who facilitated his winning the election will be among those who run the government. I did say before the election that I trust the person of General Buhari but not all those around him.
“I mean every word of it because many of them are nothing but Ali Baba and 40 thieves. And if these are the same who would go into government, you can’t fight evil with evil. You can as well kiss the anti-corruption stance of Mr. President-elect goodbye.”
The pastor also prayed for wisdom and strength for the President- elect while observing that people were already submitting applications to be encapsulated as part of his cabinet.
He added, “You don’t know how many applications are in my phone. I am not the Vice-President; I am not looking for a job. They said ‘we know General Buhari listens to you; if I cannot get Minister of Works, maybe I will get Minister of Aviation’.
“The vultures are now going round and round. If he does not have quality people around him, then they will put round pegs in square holes and within two years, we are back to square one.”
