The General Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Tunde Bakare, on Tuesday said although he trusts the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), he doubts the credibility of “his environment.” It was clear that bakare was talking about buhari’s party, the APC. The pastor addressed Christians at the annual Lenten lecture of the Island Club in Lagos. He enjoined Christians to vote wisely, saying ,
“I believe in contact without contamination.”
Bakare, who was the running mate of Buhari on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change in the 2011 presidential election, said he was not a politician but a nation builder. He said whoever loses the presidential election should accept the winner and join hands to move the nation forward. He said:
“If buhari wins, let President Goodluck Jonathan accept defeat. Whoever loses is not a loser. And if President Goodluck Jonathan wins, buhari should accept this as the will of God.”
Speaking on fasting, he urged Christians in the country to examine the true spirit behind the Lenten fast, saying fasting was not an antidote to problems but an opportunity to submit to the will of God. The pastor attributed the wrong attitude of Christians to fasting to biblical illiteracy. He maintained that the true fasting ordained by God was explained in Isaiah 58, highlighting the need to help the poor and be led by God to observe it. He said:
“It is essential for adherents to critically examine the spirit behind the fast with a view to ensuring that it is not an attempt to obtain righteousness before God.”