The former minister of information and culture (1986-1990), Mr. Tony Momoh, said yesterday that the snior pastor and founder of Latter Rain Assembly, Tunde Bakare, left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), because he could not be in the same party with the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Momoh, who was the national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), the party formed by President Muhammadu Buhari, with whom Bakare contested as vice presidential candidate in the 2011 election, said shortly after the CPC merged with other political parties to form the APC, Bakare announced that he was leaving the party.
According to him, Bakare said he was concerned about the political division in the South-West, especially the disagreement between Tinubu and some elders in Afenifere.
He said the cleric added that it would be difficult for him to reconcile the warring parties while being in the same party with Tinubu.
“After CPC merged with other parties to form the APC, Tunde Bakare left on his own accord. Bakare was very worried about the problem in the South-West, especially the division in Afenifere,” said Momoh.
“He said he wants to bring peace into Afenifere by reconciling Tinubu with Afenifere and he wouldn’t want to be in the same party with Tinubu who is one of the leaders of the APC. He said being in the APC with Tinubu would affect his chances of reconciling them, so he left.
“Yinka Odumakin was not working with us after 2011. He left after Buhari lost the presidential election. Odumakin was appointed to be Buhari’s media aide in 2011 and he did it marvelously well. After the election, he went back to Afenifere.”
On the remarks by Buba Galadima, a former national secretary of the CPC, that Buhari does not repay anyone’s loyalty, Momoh said although Galadima was the engine room of the CPC, he, however, never worked for Buhari during the presidential primary of the APC in 2014.
He said Galadima supported Rabiu Kwankwaso, who lost the primary to Buhari.
“Buba Galadima was the engine room of the CPC and I remain grateful to him for all he did. If not for him, I wouldn’t have been successful as national chairman of the CPC. I will work from 5 – 6p.m but Buba will even work till 3a.m.
“When I say he was the engine room of the CPC, I mean he was the engine room. The two people who played major roles in the work we did were Sule Hamman, who was the director general of our campaign in 2003 and 2007, and Buba Galadima. Both were some of the key figures in the Buhari organisation.
“Buba Galadima is my friend. We still meet. He was a foundation member of the APC but in 2015, he did not support Buhari; so he is not part of the coming of Buhari in 2015.
He worked for Kwankwaso during the primary, but Buhari won. Even till now, he will tell you he has not left the APC,” he said.
