The leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has warned that the country risks a total shutdown if economic hardship persists for the next three months.
In a statement that Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele’s media assistant, signed, he gave Bola Tinubu a three-month deadline to fix Nigeria’s economy.
He explained that individuals will not wait for the NLC or any organization to lead protests anymore; rather, they will storm the streets in their numbers to cry out against the government.
The cleric stated the situation of the country will be best described as a ‘standstill’ if the president doesn’t find a lasting solution to the economic hardship being faced by citizens of the country.
He urged the president not to perceive his message as a threat but as divine instructions to save the country from impending danger.
‘’In the next three months, if the economic hardship doesn’t end, Nigerians will bring the country to a total shutdown with massive demonstrations and disorderliness.
“This won’t be the usual protest that NLC or TUC organize. Individuals will storm the streets to personally protest, and this will make the country standstill for days.
‘’President Tinubu should do everything possible to fix the economy; he needs to adjust and do all that is needful because the economic hardship will wreck the country, and this will affect both the rich and the poor.
“Individuals will begin to protest, and workers will shun their working place.’’
‘’If there is no adjustment, economic hardship will shut down Nigeria in three months, and this is not a threat. The president should consider this divine instruction because what I see is not palatable.’’
The cleric further revealed that the prices of essential commodities, especially food items, will increase in the next three months if the hardship isn’t addressed.
‘’If care isn’t taken, a big yam will cost N4,000 in the next three months, a cup of garri will cost N500 and a bottle of groundnut oil will cost N3,000 if the economic situation isn’t addressed.
“Tinubu must be serious; those ministers cannot perform any magic, and they are all noisemakers. He needs technocrats and economic experts to resolve the issue.’’
Providing an alternative, Primate Ayodele advised Tinubu not to see petrol as the only resource the country has, urging him to partner with some state governors that have natural and mineral resources in their States to save the country from wreckage.