Abdullateef Aliyu, Lagos

The presiding Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, Tunde Bakare, has broken his silence on whether he would contest in 2019, declaring that he is “running”.

He made the declaration at his state of the nation address to mark the 58th Independence Anniversary of Nigeria which has just ended in Lagos.

His statement, ‘I am running’, attracted rapturous applause from the congregation who converged at the church auditorium located along Akilo Road in Ogba, Lagos until he clarified that he would not be contesting on the platform of any political party.

But he said he is running to galvanise the like-minded people to, on one hand, implement the seven-point development agenda he had earlier espoused in the course of his address and on the other hand, lead a movement to ensure the implementation of pragmatic steps towards restructuring.

“I’ll not run against President Muhammadu Buhari because I am not his number 15. Rather, fellow Nigerians on this day, the 7th of October 2018, I declare to you that I am running. I am running.

“I am running for a united Nigeria that will berth the new Nigeria. I am running to begin to start conversations around the 7-point agenda; I am running to lead Nigerians in a movement to demand the adoption of the pragmatic steps towards restructuring Nigeria.

“Don’t get me mixed up. I’m not running on the platform of any political party, I’m building a political family….” he said.

He lamented that despite five general elections with over N450billion spent, Nigeria’s problems have remained the same.

According to him, despite acclaimed progress made since Nigeria’s return to civil rule, the lives of Nigerians have not improved.

•Sourced from Daily Trustreport