How Fayose predicted subsidy removal, oil price crash

On Thursday, May 12, the governor took to his official Twitter handle to remind Nigerians of his prophesies for the year 2016

In December 2015, Fayose released a list of “20 Things Nigerians May Experience in 2016 Under Buhari’s Government”. The governor, who is one of major critics of President Muhammadu Buhari, predicted that there would be removal of fuel subsidy and petrol would sell over and above N100/litre. He also predicted that the Naira would continue to have a free fall which would take it to as low as N320 to one Dollar. As some of the governor’s prophesies have already come to pass, let’s take a closer look at the others! 

These are the 20 prophecies made by Fayose

1. Workers Strike: There will be so much industrial unrest, especially in the first quarter of the year. 

2. Subsidy: There will be removal of fuel subsidy and petrol (PMS) will sell over and above N100/litre, leaving the masses in more serious hardship. Product will not be available and long queue in petrol stations will persist throughout the first quarter of 2016 and beyond.

 3. Electricity: Power generation will drop to the lowest ebb. Still, Federal Government will increase tariff in 2016.

 4. Unemployment: Millions of jobs will be lost in 2016 as against the three million jobs promised by the APC yearly. Most States and Federal Government will retrench workers as evident in the over 2,000 Federal University workers already sacked. 

5. Economic Policy: Most private owned middle-class businesses will fold up because of bad economic policies of the Buhari-led government.

 6. Devaluation: The Naira will continue to have a free fall which will take it to as low as N320 to one Dollar.

 7. Economy: The Buhari-led FG will have no solution to country’s economic problems. 

8. Security: Boko Haram will keep spreading and the Shi’ite Muslims will get more emboldened. 

9. Human Rights: Penchant for dictatorship will rise with rampant human rights abuses and disobedience to court orders. 

10. Anti-Corruption: Insincerity in the fight against corruption will continue and the fight will not only be selective and political, but targeted more at Southerners. 

11. Elections: Attempt to forcefully control any of the South South States of Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Bayelsa by the APC will lead to unprecedented deaths. 

12. Economy: Crude oil price will fall to below and about $30 per barrel. 

13. Anti-Press Laws: The masses, especially men of the media profession will rise against the FG’s plot to deny Nigerians of their rights to freedom of expression. There will wide condemnations by Nigerians and the International community against President Buhari’s human rights abuses and disobedience to court orders. 

14. Polity: Renewed efforts will be made to remove Senator Bukola Saraki as the Senate President; this will not only fail, but will heat the polity. 

 15. Hardships: Nigerians will experience more hardships. The president himself attested to this . This obviously negates the change Nigerians voted for. 

16. Elections: Plot by the APC to take control of at least one South South State will lead to death of many people. Particularly, rerun elections in Rivers and Akwa-Ibom States will cause many deaths. 

17. Corruption: Halliburton scam may be revisited in 2016. 

19. – Kogi state: Court will sack Governor-elect, Yahaya Bello.

 – Bayelsa state: Governor Seriake Dickson will win the supplementary election. 

– Taraba state: Governor Darius Ishaku will be victorious at the court. 

20. Politics: There will be subtle political alignment and realignment before the end of the year ahead of 2019 elections. Fayose’s prophesies triggered mixed reactions among Nigerians: while some people called him “the political oracle of our time”, others mocked the governor.