Residents of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, hit the streets on Monday to protest the overly high cost of living, food inflation, and the current economic hardship in the country.
REPORTERS AT LARGE observed that protesters gathered around the Mokola area in the state, wielding placards with various inscriptions such as ‘End food hike and inflation’, ‘End food hike and inflation,’ ‘The poor are starving,’ and ‘Tinubu, don’t forget your promises,’ among others.
The protest was staged in the Mokola area of Ibadan, the state capital. Placard-carrying youths chanted songs in droves to emphasize their points and express their grievances.
Armed policemen were seen at the protest scene even as demonstrators held the peaceful rally against the economic hardship in the land occasioned by the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange windows.
Recall that the police on Sunday warned that no breach of peace would be allowed during any protest in the state.
The protest in Oyo followed others in Kano, and Minna, amongst others, over economic hardship occasioned by petrol subsidy removal, food inflation, and the high cost of living.
Meanwhile, last Thursday, President Bola Tinubu ordered the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun; and the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Yusuf Bichi; to work with governors and go after those hoarding foodstuffs.
The President, who met with governors of the 36 states in Abuja last week, also ruled out the importation of food items, adding that he won’t set up a price control board.
