Former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), Pastor Tunde Bakare, has expressed grave concern over what he described as the unhealthy relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government under President Bola Tinubu.
Delivering a State of the Nation address on Sunday at his church in Lagos, Bakare warned President Tinubu against centralizing power and eroding democratic institutions, urging him to abandon what he called a “God complex.”
“To the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under whose political style the institution of legislative oversight is collapsing and our democracy faces an existential threat, I say: Mr. President, Nigeria is too fragile for this kind of politics,” he stated.
“If what you meant by ‘emi lo kan’ is this level of state capture, then we are witnessing an anti-climax that will only prove counterproductive. Reflect on these words: ‘No man is wise enough nor good enough to be trusted with unlimited power.’ Mr. President, please stop playing God.”
Bakare accused the Tinubu administration of influencing the National Assembly to the point where it has become a tool of executive overreach.
“Increasingly, the National Assembly has become a haven for legislative recklessness, serving as an extension of the presidency and rubber-stamping its decisions—thus violating the constitutional principle of separation of powers,” he said.
He cited recent parliamentary actions, including the approval of a controversial state of emergency in Rivers State and the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as evidence of growing executive dominance.
“This 10th National Assembly, through its unconstitutional endorsement of executive overreach, has proven to be the most spineless in recent memory,” Bakare remarked. “It has effectively become the 48th member of the president’s cabinet. Meanwhile, in Rivers State, a cabinet minister is functioning as a de facto third-term governor, enabled by the president’s indulgence.”
Bakare’s critique adds to the chorus of voices raising alarm over democratic backsliding, calling for renewed commitment to the rule of law, institutional independence, and good governance.
