‘I met Adeosun at villa entrance’ — Bakare says he didn’t accompany finance minister to Buhari

Tunde Bakare, senior pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, says he and Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, met President Muhammadu Buhari for different reasons.

Speaking on his way out of the presidential villa after over an hour in the president’s office, Bakare said he did not go to Buhari on Adeosun’s behalf, explaining that they met at the entrance of the villa.

“Our visit was not related. We met at the entrance of the villa,” he told reporters before leaving.

While the pastor left around 4pm, Adeosun departed the president’s office 35 minutes later.

Although she responded to greetings, Adeosun did not entertain questions from reporters.

Bakare and Adeosun, who are both from Ogun state, walked into the president’s office around 2:30pm.

The minister has been in the news over alleged forgery of the exemption certificate of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Premium Times had reported that Adeosun submitted a forged NYSC exemption certificate for her ministerial screening.

The newspaper said she is not eligible for an exemption certificate, having graduated at the age of 22 and failing to present herself for the mandatory one-year programme before she clocked 30 years.