Fuel, Cash Scarcity Angry Youths Shutdown Ondo, Ogun, Edo

Commercial activities were grounded on Tuesday in parts of Ondo, Ogun, and Edo states over new naira notes and fuel scarcity as the anger in the land continues to build up. 

Africa Today News, New York gathered that a number of angr youths set up bonfires on the road while also blocking major roads over the scarcity lamenting that it has brought suffering to millions of Nigerians.

In Ore the Odigbo council area of Ondo State, youths staged a peaceful protest along Benin/Ore/ Lagos highway, against the scarcity of naira notes and fuel scarcity.

The action came barely 24 hours after the Ondo State Police Commissioner, Mr. Oyeyemi Oyediran, warned against protests across the state or any action that can lead to a breach of peace in the state.

Oyediran said available intelligence revealed that certain unscrupulous elements planned to disrupt the peace being enjoyed by the residents of the state.

The protest caused heavy gridlock along the highway and left travellers plying the route stranded for hours.

Read Also: Naira Scarcity: Nigerians Close To Breaking Point – NLC

Africa Today News, New York further gathered that the protesters converged on the Ore flyover as early as 8 am, blocking the road and grounding social and economic activities in the commercial centre.

The protesters were heard chanting ‘All we are saying, give us new notes, give us petrol’.

Commuters plying the highway were held up on the road for several hours.

Transporters and drivers plying the road lamented the blockade while expressing dissatisfaction over the incident after struggling to buy fuel to travel to Lagos

A protester, who identified himself as Ayodele Ajimakin, said the current hardship ravaging the country is quite alarming and becoming unbearable.

Similarly, commercial activities were disrupted in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, following a protest by irate youths, who trooped into major roads in the metropolis to protest fuel and the new Naira notes scarcity

The protest also spread to other parts of the metropolis, including Sapon, Panseke, Ibara, and Iyana-Mortuary, where political posters and billboards were destroyed.

It was observed that schools and other businesses hurriedly closed to avoid being caught up in the crisis.

While parents rushed to schools to take home their wards at noon, residents were seen frantically calling loved ones to stay safe and avoid being victims of the ongoing violent protest.

To avoid being attacked, taxi drivers and commercial motorcyclists known as okada riders had to show solidarity by attaching leaves to their vehicles and bikes.

Africa Today News, New York

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