FLASHBACK: WORDS ON MARBLE FROM FORMER PUBLICITY SECRETARY ACN/APC AND NOW MINISTER FOR INFORMATION AND CULTURE Lai Mohammed

"We remain on the side of the people. We feel their pulse and their pains. We believe the removal of fuel subsidy is a great misadventure, and have conveyed our stand on the issue in a letter to the President, though we never got a response." ‘’President Jonathan did not tell Nigerians during his electioneering campaign, that his administration will only be able to deliver the dividends of democracy by removing fuel subsidy. Therefore, it amounts to arm-twisting the people to say that funds saved from fuel subsidy removal will be used to construct roads, build hospitals and schools and other expectations from the government. "The government should have been honest enough to say it is seeking ways to raise money for governance, and Nigerians would have been glad enough to let it know how to raise money without resorting to a phantom fuel subsidy removal. "Our message to the President is that if he feels he cannot explore other areas to raise money for development, like cutting down on government excesses, then he should say so clearly and leave the stage for those who can ensure development with minimal pains. Our party, the ACN, will provide good governance without removing fuel subsidy, and we are ready to do so today if the Jonathan government cannot." ALHAJI LAI MUHAMMED, 2011.