PROTESTS erupt in Edo over fuel price hike, FG begs for patience

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PROTESTS organized by civil society groups under the aegis of the Edo Civil Society Organisations erupted in Edo State on Monday.

They took to the streets of Benin City, the state capital, in protest against the recent hike in fuel prices.

They walked through some major streets and condemned the increase and the high cost of governance in Nigeria.

The protesters claim the cost of governance is high in Nigeria.

The protesters are piqued by what they described as an increment in the price of petrol amid penury.

According to them, the new National Assembly members are made to share huge sums running into billions of naira to improve their working conditions while the downtrodden groan under the new fuel regime.

Carrying placards with several inscriptions, the Edo civil society groups also rejected the proposed N8,000 palliative by the Federal Government following the removal of the petrol subsidy.

One of the protesters, Olu Martins, insisted that the Federal Government should have put the necessary palliatives in place before going ahead with the new policies, which according to him are taking their toll on Nigerians.

On his part, the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, who addressed the protesters at the Assembly Complex, called for patience. He says he’s on the same page with activists over the proposed palliatives.

The protest comes almost two months after President Bola Tinubu declared the subsidy era gone. Since the development, the price of the commodity has increased from around N900 per litre to between N600-N700 across the country.

While the Federal Government says the move is in the best interest of the country, critics argue it will plunge the country into crisis.

In the wake of the move, the Federal Government proposed an N8,000 palliative for Nigerians but later said it would review it after a wave of backlash.

It also called for patience and said measures were being worked out to ease the pains occasioned by the subsidy removal.

“As a government, we have heard your cries about fuel price increases, and be rest assured, we are working round the clock to normalize & bring solutions that ease the pain,” the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) George Akume, said late Sunday. “Our job is to give you the quality of life you deserve when you wake up. So far, we are on course.”

Already, some state governments, notably Bayelsa, have rolled out vehicles to aid movement.