Senior Pastor of the Citadel Global Community Church, Tunde Bakare, has said that he did not believe in inducing delegates with money to secure their votes.
Bakare, who was not among the 13 aspirants cleared by the John Odigie-Oyegun-led screening committee to contest the primary, said he sold himself to the delegates through bulk SMS.
He spoke with Channels before the convention took off.
The cleric also said that the APC leadership did not reach out to him regarding “consensus talks and stepping down.”
While urging the APC to be ‘mannerly’ in communicating its decisions to aspirants, especially with regards to selecting its flag bearer, Bakare boasted: ”I will be 16th president, and number 15 must help number 16.”
While expressing confidence that he would emerge the party’s flag bearer because, according to him, “he carries grace,” he, however, stated that he would support whoever emerges victorious.
His words:” I got to all the delegates and sent them bulk SMS in different languages. There is no single delegate – not the ones that have been banned because when they were running all around, they were going to statutory delegates that cannot vote tonight (last night).
”I didn’t go to them. I got the information and booklet of all the delegates in every state and every local government and everyone got a message from me, and many responded.
“The delegates will vote for whoever they choose. We must stop all these financial inducements. If delegates and citizens allow politicians to take advantage of them, they will visit them around elections and rob their treasury for the next four years. We want to bring change into that order.
“I am going to be on the ballot because I paid for my form. In a decent and orderly society, if I apply to be a candidate and I paid all the necessary fees, courtesy demands that you tell me that – ‘oh, your name is not there.’ I can’t listen to (Governor Simon) Lalong.
“I did not have any communication from the party and I would not get information from television because “I went to the secretariat and paid my fees. You cleared me. Whether I am disqualified nobody has said that, and nobody has said ‘will you step down?’
“ I carry grace, favour and God-factor. Give me an opportunity to speak to the delegates and let’s see what will happen. I will be the 16th president, and when that time comes, number 15 must help number 16 because I did a great deal to ensure number 15 is enthroned in this country. I am a man of faith and what I speak is full of faith.”
