Protest against increase in prices of the Premium Motor Spirit otherwise called petrol, and electricity tariff took a different turn in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Tuesday as students, civil society groups and some aggrieved residents took to streets to call for the reversal of the pump price as well as electricity tariff.
The protesters, bearing placards with different inscriptions and chanting anti-government songs, besiegedAwolowo Road Junction in the metropolis.
The rally condemned what they described as the incessant hikes in the prices of the essential commodities, noting that the decisions depicted the Federal Government as insensitive to the plights of the citizens.
The Chairman, Joint Campus Committee of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Mayowa Opakunle, said the Nigerian students had resolved to reject the price hikes with its energy. “We are on the streets to register our grievances and show our displeasure against the wicked policies and unjust treatment of Nigerians by the Federal Government.
“We say no to fuel price hike and electricity tariff increment at this period when many people have lost their jobs and many have not been paid for the past six months.
“Prices of food and other goods and services have continued to increase while salaries are either being slashed into half while many do not even get paid at all. Despite the hardship, the inept government has continued to increase prices of commodities. This is worrisome,” Opakunle said.
The former Chairman, Trade Union Congress in Oyo State, Mr Andrew Emelieze, lamented that the hike would further impoverish the masses.
