In this interview by ADEWALE AJAYI, Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, insists the government must reverse itself over the removal of oil subsidy.

On January 1, 2011, the Federal Government announced the removal of fuel subsidy which led to the increase in the pump price of petrol and general sharp rise in the cost of living. Did the announcement come to you as a surprise?

The announcement did not come as a surprise because there is nothing left  with Jonathan-led  government  that  can   compel  a trust of the populace. From the beginning, right from the time of  the election till the time he was sworn in and  up till this day, the foundation of his administration was built on  fraud and it  has remained  fraudulent, because there is  no reason why his finance minister will say subsidy has not been removed; that it is still on till April, only for them to spring a surprise on the  poor and the vulnerable by January 1. Many people are stranded in the place they went for, for Christmas break. They can’t return now because they can’t afford  the cost of transport. It didn’t come to me as a surprise; no one should expect the leopard to change its spot.

What are the immediate and long term implication of the removal?
We do not accept at the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) along with  right-thinking people, that there is a removal. There is an announcement of removal right now. A  few people are stranded who needed petrol. As he reversed himself on the football issue , he is going to reversed himself very shortly, because he would be overwhelmed by  outcry of people against  him. So, I do not agree that there is a removal. I agree there was an announcement, and people who are too in shock quickly bought it. So they have petrol in their cars.

But  by the time the whole system is shut down, we will know which one will prevail, either the power of  the incumbency or the sovereignty and  the will of the people .

Before the announcement, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Allison-Madueke and the Central Bank (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, appeared at a forum where issues relating to the removal of subsidy were discussed. So what really happened? Was it that there were no adequate consultations before the decision was taken?
There wasn’t. There was no adequate consultation. Is the president the authorised body  or individual to announce such a removal? The budget is still before the National Assembly. It  is not  being debated, it has not been approved. He told the nation through the finance minister that, the subsidy will remain till April. The Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) which, by legislation, should be the one making the announcement, has not made any announcement. He just got up one morning, whether after a bad nightmare, and announced what he felt. He just woke up from his stupor and announced what he liked to the nation. He is  a servant of the people, Nigerians will not accept it. There was no adequate consultation.

Part of the reasons given for removing the subsidy was that the money will be used to fix bad roads, and that palliative measures would be put in place so that Nigerians will not feel the impact of the removal. Do you believe in all these promises?
You can’t steal my money and be giving it back to me and you say you are doing me a favour , you have to account for the past budgetary allocation,  from the days in the past when they were voting billions of naira to road construction without any construction. How will they be taken serious. It is the same PDP  government where billions of naira was voted for infrastructural development. Where did the money go to? Who is going to take them serious for what they say they want to do  now? They can tell that to the marines.