Pastor Tunde Bakare, the serving overseer of The Citadel Global Community Church, had earlier in an interview with This Day, explained how he got capital to finance ‘The Citadel’ church.
Bakare therefore, with the newspaper publication, has deflated the online news report that, he is not servicing the loans collected from banks used to build his Oregun church – ‘The Citadel.’
According to the news story headlined “Pastor Tunde Bakare Faces Humiliation as Wema Bank Moves to Recover N9 Billion Used To Build Church” that made rounds on the social media on Monday, December 27th, 2021, the writer claimed that the lawyer turned pastor, Bakare, cannot service his Wema Bank loan, and so, the ‘bank’s axe’ might fall on him.
The writer also reported that, the said Wema Bank loan, “has risen to about nine billion naira (N9 billion)”
However, in a report on the church’s WhatsApp platform on Tuesday, December 28th, sighted by SarahReport team, Pastor Bakare, maybe, just to clarify issues raised in the online publication, made available for ‘public view’, the interview he granted This Day newspaper about how ‘The Citadel’ was built.
He said, “the only person in government who gave us money was Buhari;” who assisted the building project with N5 million (Five Million Naira only); but that, “there were individuals who gave this and that.”
Cleric Bakare also mentioned that, all the church had at the beginning of ‘The Citadel’ project was N500 million, (Five Hundred Million Naira), but thanks to his wife, Pastor (Mrs.) Laide Bakare, who encouraged him to start the project with the money after the state’s government approval, and even though it was not enough as a start up capital for such a project.
In Bakare’s words, “We didn’t have the money to build but God granted us favour.”
Pastor Bakare added, “I’ve done some investment myself in times past. And there are members of the church, who gave their best, but I will tell you today, Citadel was financed by five banks, no government money, not one dime.”
The eloquent Pastor continued,
“Out of the five (5) banks, we have paid two off. We are on the third one now. And that’s Fidelity.”
Bakare explained:
“We have paid off Unity bank. We have paid off UBA. We are paying fidelity now, and the two other banks have restructured the facility so that instead of two (2) years, it is now five (5) years where we can pay in installments.”
The one time vice presidential candidate and author revealed that, he is writing a book on how the Citadel church was funded so that people can keep quiet.
“I’m writing a book on how Citadel was funded so that people can keep quiet.”
Nevertheless, the Ogun state born clergyman was honest enough to say that the only security they (the banks) took as collateral for the project loan was his name, and the land upon which the church is built as well as the old building.
In Bakare’s words,
“And honestly, the only security they took for this was my name and the land upon which it is built and the old building.”
Like the online news report that alleged “Covid 19 Messed up Bakare’s Repayment Plan,” Pastor Bakare himself said, The commercial section of the church is in place, “but for COVID,” the section would have paid for everything.
“The commercial section in that place, but for COVID, will pay for everything there, and you don’t have to really pressurise people…
“There’s a banking hall, there are big shops that will attract commerce.., There’s an event centre there. There are schools there. All the classrooms that I use for Sunday school, we use for school from Monday to Friday. It’s a complete community model.”