Femi Fani-Kayode, former minister of aviation, and Tunde Bakare have decided to sheathe their swords after a spat between the duo over a sermon about Bola Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
On December 23, Bakare, the serving overseer of Citadel Global Community Church, formerly known as Latter Rain Assembly (LRA), delivered a sermon in his church, where he said God does not need anyone’s permission to put Tinubu, former governor of Lagos, in his hall of fame.
The fiery preacher, known for his criticism of Tinubu’s style of leadership, had praised the APC chieftain and castigated some Yoruba elders who are against the former governor.
The sermon had generated a lot of reactions online, with most social media users criticising Bakare for speaking out of both sides of his mouth.
In his reaction to the sermon, Fani-Kayode had written an article titled “Who is Squeezing Bakare’s Balls?“, where he also alleged that the preacher could have changed his initial position on Tinubu as a result of a “deep dark secret” the APC national leader’s camp has on him.
In his response, Bakare dared Fani-Kayode to expose him if there is any shady deal he could have had in the past, saying no one in the country “or elsewhere in the world can blackmail me over anything done in the past to anyone or with anyone”.
Fani-Kayode replied again that the preacher is not God and he will “respond to him fire for fire”.
It was however, gathered that Dele Momodu, a media mogul, reached out to the two men to end the spat.
“My own Brother, happy new year ahead. Pls let’s cease fire and start the new year in peace and happiness. Love you always,” a message sent by Momodu to one of the parties read.
In his response to the call for a truce, Bakare was said to have stated that no “amount of cyber terrorism or social media attack can change our position”, adding that his church is committed to the “timeless principles of God’s word”.
Fani-Kayode had also posted an update on his Facebook page on Wednesday that the disagreement has been resolved.
“Just concluded a 3-way conversation with Pastor Tunde Bakare and Mogaji Gboyega Adejumo, spokesman of the Yoruba Summit Group,” Fani-Kayode wrote.
“We clarified all issues and put the matter behind us. My respect for Pastor Bakare remains high. I thank Mogaji and Chief Dele Momodu for their intervention.”
