Edo protests soar as fuel subsidy removal ignites public outcry
Members of the Edo State Civil Society Organisations and other civil rights groups took to the streets on Monday to protest the hardship faced by Nigerians following the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.
The rallies commenced at Ring Road and marched through the major streets in Benin, including Mission Road, Akpakpava Road, Sakponba Road, and others.
The protesters brandished placards with powerful messages such as “In less than two months, Tinubu’s Government is choking Nigerians to death,” “Tinubu, let us breathe,” “Kill corruption, not Nigerians,” “The cost of living in Nigeria is suffocating us,” “FG, allow the poor to breathe,” and “Keep your palliatives, fix our refineries.”
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Speaking to journalists, the EDOCSO interim president, Comrade Austin Enabulele, stated that the group appreciated the removal of the petroleum subsidy by the Federal Government but urged them to implement measures to alleviate the suffering of the poor masses caused by the removal.
“We appreciate that the President has removed the subsidy because they were using it to steal from us. However, palliatives should have been put in place before the removal. The refineries should work, even if it is two, so that we can buy fuel at an affordable price in Nigeria,” Enabulele said.
“We have come to tell the President that we don’t need the N8,000 palliatives. He should keep it to himself. It is another way of stealing Nigerians’ money.
“How do you get the statistics of 12 million Nigerians that you want to pay N996 billion to as palliatives? Meanwhile, you want to spend N70 billion on the National Assembly with just 469 members.
“Isn’t that stealing? Isn’t that calling Nigerians fools? We want to let President Bola Tinubu know that we are not fools and that enough is enough,” Enabulele added.
The President of Talakawa’s Parliament, Comrade Kola Edokpayi, also expressed his thoughts, saying, “It is no longer news that the poverty rate has increased under the watch of our president.
“It is sad we are where we are today. We cannot continue like this. Imagine lawmakers proposing N70bn payment when the masses are suffering,” he added.