A surge of demonstrations in response to an increase in the price per litre of petrol occurred across various areas of Ilorin, the state capital, on Thursday.
The protests had a significant impact in various locations such as the Oloje community in Ilorin West Local Government Area, Maraba, Taiwo Road, Post Office area, Gerin Alimi, Offa garage, Gambari area, and Sango.
In some instances, passengers were compelled to disembark from commercial vehicles.
People trooped out en mass chanting anti-government songs and obstructing vehicular movement.
Operators of commercial motorcycle operators (Okada Riders) were disrupted from carrying passengers.
As a result of the incident, commuters were stranded as some of them resorted to trekking long distances within the Ilorin metropolis while a few vehicles operating around some major routes increased their fare astronomically.
Some of the protesters who spoke with VON correspondent said they could no longer cope with the high cost of petrol in the country and called on the federal government to rescind its decision without further delay.
“We barely make a profit at the end of each day after spending our earnings on fuel.”
Security operatives have been drafted and deployed to strategic areas of the metropolis to ease the tension and manage the situation.
Meanwhile, the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has directed the immediate deployment of buses to different parts of the Illorin metropolis to ease the movement of commuters.
The buses are to take people to the most central destinations free of charge.
We hope that persons attending the SUBEB job placement interviews will find this helpful, particularly in the metropolis.
This is contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Rafiu Ajakaye.
The Governor in the statement also appealed to transporters and members of the public to exercise patience over the new fuel price hike, saying different government stakeholders are reviewing the situation with public good as a top priority.
“The inconveniences are regretted, and we are confident that things will ease as soon as possible,” it added.
Lantana Nasir
