Nigerians under the aegis of Edo Civil Society Organisations on Monday trooped into major streets in Benin City, Edo State capital, protesting the recent increase in price of petrol and general nationwide hardship.
They groups lamented the high cost of governance and flamboyance exhibited by politicians at the expense of the poor Nigerians.
Some of their placards read: ‘FG Fix Our Refineries;’ ‘Kill Corruption, not Nigerians;’ ‘Poor Nigerians Lives Matter;’ ‘We Say No To Constant Increment In PMS;’ ‘How Did NNPCL Become Fuel Price Requlator;’ ‘N8,000 Palliatives, and ‘What An Insult;’ among others.
According to the groups, the federal government ought to have provided palliatives that would cushion the pangs of fuel subsidy removal before implementing it.
In his inaugural speech, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had declared an end to subsidy of fuel, and this jerked the litre of petrol from N197 to above N500 across the country.
And last Tuesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited increased the prices of petrol to N617 per litre in Abuja, while other places like Lagos are selling at N550 above.
Tinubu, in his bid to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians, proposed to give N8,000 to 12 million households for six months, a measure that was suspended over a barrage of criticisms.
Since the swearing in of President Tinubu, Nigerians have faced a new era unprecedented hardship as the increment in the prices of petrol has adversely affected the cost of living including transportation, food, and other goods and services.