Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has denied predicting that former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar would win the February 25 presidential election.

The cleric clarified that he only stated that Atiku was God’s choice but added that Nigerians might not vote for God’s choice.

He also Insisted that peace would elude the South-East of Nigeria until the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu is released.

While warning Nigerians to brace up for more challenging times ahead, Primate Ayodele said the sudden removal of fuel subsidy would cause more pain and hardship to the masses.

“The consequences of the removal of the fuel will cause hardship. They should have removed it technically, so that it would not affect the people that badly. But they removed it and this will affect Tinubu’s government. It is going to cause more hardship than what we were experiencing before,” he said.

Primate Ayodele spoke during the release of his annual book of prophecies, ‘Warning to the Nations’ in Lagos. Vera Wisdom-Bassey was there.

What’s the book of prophecies all about?

Since its inception, Warnings To the Nations has done well in speaking to power and foretelling things to come. It majorly addresses leaders of nations and warns them of troubles ahead of them. For those who listen, they end up averting these troubles but for those who ignore these God-given warnings, the otherwise happens to them.

President Tinubu has shocked some people with his activities in the past few weeks.Do you foresee any problem for him?

President Tinubu will have a crisis with some serving governors, past governors and Northerners over Boko Haram and banditry. Those mentioned above would believe he came for vengeance, even though that is not his mission. What security agents are doing has a question mark, because when they arrest terrorists, they still get released. That is why Tinubu will have problems with ex-governors, present governors and some Northerners. They believe that Tinubu has come to revenge, and that’s why they will start having a crisis.

How do you think President Tinubu should handle the issue of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu?

President Tinubu should release Nnamdi Kanu, the incarcerated leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Kanu’s freedom will be instrumental to the return of peace in the South-East. Peace will remain elusive in the South-East as long as Nnamdi Kanu is held in custody.

We have seen every country in the world retain its energy subsidy, but here in Nigeria, the only thing the common man enjoys is being removed. What is your take on this?

For me I don’t know what the common man has been enjoying, but before, I said that they would remove the subsidy as soon as he Tinubu was voted, and he has done that. The consequences of the removal of the fuel will cause hardship. They should have removed it technically, so that it would not affect the people that badly. But they removed it and this will affect Tinubu’s government. It is going to cause more hardship than what we were experiencing before.That is it.

There is this saying by some Nigerians that your prophecies relate only to politics. Why?

Wait.Politics, sports, human interest angles, education, and with 5,000 prophecies fulfilled in 2022-2023, it cannot be politics alone. But you pick politics along with it. As a journalist, you believe in what happened to the governors alone. You believe that is the side attraction. So, the political aspect of it is normal and there is nobody that does not give political prophecies. Nobody.

Everybody does. They call me names – PDP pastor, some call me Labour pastor, different names that people call me.All the same, I will tell you. Either I am APC pastor or whatever; I must say what the Lord says over a particular issue. There is no way you talk about a nation and you don’t talk about the president and those at the helms of affairs. You will talk about politics, education, natural resources among others.

How do you handle criticisms?

It’s you that are noticing those criticisms. I don’t even see them. The only thing I’m concerned about is when God talks and when God doesn’t talk. If you do anything or say anything, I can’t be bothered because I have signed a covenant with God. So nobody can tell me to stop, I can only stop if God asks me to stop. When people do not talk about you, it shows you are not doing anything new. It’s either they criticise you negatively or positively, and you must always learn how to appreciate that they are talking about you. I don’t see them as critics. I see them as my friends. Whatever they are saying, that’s their personal opinion. It’s not God’s mind. So that’s why I’m not tired and I won’t be tired until God says so.

Some say you study the economy and things happening around you before you give your prophecies?

Let them also go and look at any events and make their prophecies. That is my answer. Now, Kogi election is coming, Imo election is coming. Ondo election is coming. Now I want to say something that the only person that can deliver Ondo is Jimoh Ibrahim.

If PDP hears this, they will get angry. They believe that I know Jimoh and that I have collected money from him. That is how life is. Before Akeredolu came out. I said it’s Akeredolu or Borroface. God gave it to Akeredolu. The next election that is coming up is Jimoh Ibrahim. Zoning is the answer, and Jimoh is the best candidate that can deliver that state. That is a prophecy. Keep it. I said in Kogi State, if the other candidate is not ready, the other candidates are ready and will do anything to win the election.Also in Bayelsa, PDP will do anything to win the election. The tribunal is on now. So let’s wait and watch it.

Some people said you predicted that Atiku would win, but it’s Tinubu that won. What will you say to that?

Thank you very much. I said and I quote that Atiku is God’s choice, but that people would not vote for God’s choice. It was recorded. I never changed it. I stand by it. I cannot change any prophecy; that is what God has revealed to me.Atiku is God’s choice, but people will not vote for him.I did not say anybody would win, and not even inside the story.It is online, but because some people are very gullible, they want to change the story to suit themselves. So, based on that, I have it on record. Some people will not write but pick from headlines to write their story. That is their story. There was a story in which I said APC might lose in Ondo State inside the story, and within 10 minutes not less than 300 people called me, demanding why I said so. So I had to call them to read the inside of the story.They read only the headline. So, that is just it.

How do you see the outcome of things at the presidential tribunal?

I foresee that if the tribunal does not do the needful, it will affect the image of the tribunal members. I foresee that INEC will not be seen any longer as an unbiased umpire as expected. INEC will be seen as a clearing house for all manners of election results.

There will be confusion in the government circles because the judgment will be very clear to all. The best option will be either they go for a rerun or another election entirely or they leave it the way it is. The ruling party will not want a rerun. They will seek various lines of defence and it will not hold water as expected.

What are the other things contained in the book of prophecies?

If we have been doing prophecies since 1994 and we have not been getting it right, we would have stopped. To the glory of God, it started from somewhere and we give glory to God that we are here for this edition, again. Some other prophecies to expect in the 2023/2024 Warnings To The Nations include the 2024 presidential election in the United States, the Russia-Ukraine war, governorship elections in Kogi, Bayelsa, Ondo, Edo states, presidential elections in South Sudan, Liberia, Gabon, Zimbabwe, among others. (Saturday Sun)