Protesters Shut Down Benin City, Demand Reactivation Of State Petroleum Monitoring Taskforce

By Osariemen Idiaghe/Benin

Civil Society Organizations in Edo State yesterday shut down the state capital over scarcity and high cost of fuel in the state.

The protesters who were made up of different civil society organizations, including Edo Civil Societies Organization, Faculty of Peace, among others closed the King Square popularly called Ring Road, Sapele Road, Sakponba Road from traffic.

While singing solidarity songs, they
pleaded with the State Governor,Mr Godwin Obaseki to reactivate the State Petroleum Monitoring Taskforce in order to curtail the astronomic rise in the price of the commodity in the state.

ALSO READ: Schools Shut Down In Edo Over Protest

Speaking, at the Edo State House of Assembly, the President, Faculty of Peace,Edo State, Comrade Ken Okumbo said the Edo State Government should reactivate the State Petroleum Monitoring Taskforce in order to curtail the exorbitant cost of petroleum products.

He said, “From our investigations, major marketers are selling fuel in
Kaduna,Kano,Lagos and other cities, but in Edo State every fuel due to the state is diverted,the scarcity in Edo State is hitting us hard, we have a governor,we use to have monitoring taskforce, what is the governor doing? Before,when there is a problem,the monitoring taskforce will go into the street to ensure that the marketer sell at government prescribed prices.”

The former Coordinator General, EDOSCO, Comrade Omobude Agho, said the citizens of the country have been taken for granted and have been constantly meant to suffer untold hardship in the midst of abundance.

According to him, the recent hike in the petroleum pump price is anti-people and Nigerians can no longer endure the present hardship.

He reiterated the fact that, the prices of things have gone up while the minimum wage has remained stagnated.

“Fuel has become N700 and minimum wage is N30,000. Bag of rice is over N50,000 and the minimum wage is still N30,000.

” You cannot move from one point unless you are carrying a heavy budget and minimum wage remain the same, we think we can’t continue like this in this country and we are coming out to say Nigerians must take action”, Agho said.

The Ex-coordinator General of EDOSCO hinted that from the look of things in the country, it is now very obvious that the current leaders have failed us

“And if they know that they can’t provide leadership for the country, they should give room for those who can to provide leadership”, he said.

He maintained that the civil society organizations in the state will from this time henceforth take battle to those who are sabotaging the nation’s economy and causing untold hardship on the Nigerian citizens.

“All our economy saboteur, in high and low places, we will fight them.

“Before, we say we will resist them but now, we will fight them.

“Anywhere you see black marketers, pursue them, and don’t pity them that they are poor. Anybody that is wicked whether poor or rich , is wicked.

“Anywhere we catch a black marketer, we will seize the fuel, we will convert it and if you don’t have anything to do with the fuel, throw them away.

” So, when those at the black market don’t have the fuel, the filling stations will be forced to sell at the fixed price.

“And the filling stations that are selling above the federal government agreed price, we will begin to picket them.

“We know them and we know where they are and we shall get them.

“Our brothers and sisters are the ones working at these filling stations and we shall get them.

“Even those who are contesting elections that have filling stations, they are still part of the black marketers.

” Even those currently in government now, still join in the black marketing business. We shall get them”, he said.

While reacting,the Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Marcus Onobun said he shares in the concerns of Edo People and promised to see that the message gets to the state governor.
“I can tell you that I share in your pain, because we members of the Edo State House of Assembly don’t have any fuel dump any where. We buy at the same price, so we feel your pain.