Protests erupt in Ondo over Naira and fuel scarcity

Despite the police warning, some Ondo State residents are currently staging a protest to express their dissatisfaction with the scarcity of fuel and the new naira notes.

The protesters, who have already shut down the busy Ore/Benin expressway, have also halted vehicular and human traffic on the routes.

Many motorists and commuters have been forced to use alternate routes.

“This protest is a signal to the government that the masses are suffering.There is no fuel.There are no naira notes.There is a long line to get everything.It’s getting too much for us,” one of the protesters , Mr. Ogunyemi said.

The police had asked residents in the state not to stage any street protests to highlight the state’s lingering fuel scarcity and commercial banks’ hoarding of new naira notes.

Mr. Oyeyemi Oyediran, the Ondo Commissioner of Police, warned at a stakeholders’ meeting on Monday that any action or inaction by the protesters could result in a breach of the state’s peace.

Again, he stated that the Command was aware of a plan by some irate residents, particularly the youths in the area.

However Adebimbe Ogunyemi, explained that the recent hardships afflicting the country, particularly the scarcity of gasoline, compelled them to take to the streets.