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Fuel, New Naira Notes Scarcity Protests Rock Delta, Ekiti

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1 year ago

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Angry youths, students, motorists and traders on Wednesday took to the streets in Delta and Ekiti states to protest the fuel and naira scarcity that has caused hardship for many Nigerians in recent weeks.

In Ekiti, students of the state university in Ado Ekiti protested the fuel scarcity-induced hike in transport fares.

The students, who reside in Ado Ekiti and Iworoko Ekiti, said they could not afford the N400 fare to school, which was a 100 per cent increase in transportation fare.

They barricaded Iworoko Road which leads to the campus and also occupied the university gate to ensure that nobody accessed the school.

However, trouble started when the mini-bus operators plying the school from Ado Ekiti insisted that the N200 fare that was previously charged as well as the sitting arrangement in the vehicles were no longer feasible in view of the scarcity of fuel and the downtime caused by queues at petrol stations.

The President of the Student Union Government, Dotun Ogunsanya, who justified the students’ action, said, “What you have seen today is a reaction to the change in fare to and from school from N200 to N400 by the commercial transport operators.”

Reacting to the development, the Vice Chancellor of the school, Prof Edward Olanipekun, declared three “lecture (physical) free days on campus” effective Wednesday.

The vice chancellor said that the school management would use the opportunity to meet with the transport operators in the community in order to resolve the issue.

The Head of EKSU Directorate of Corporate Affairs, Bode Olofinmuagun, said, “The lecture-free days were declared in view of the present national fuel crisis which has resulted in an astronomical hike in the transport fares, thus making it difficult for many of our students and staff to come to the campus.

Meanwhile, in Delta state, angry youths, human rights activists, motorists, and traders barricaded Asaba-Onitsha Expressway in Asaba, the Delta State capital, protesting the fuel and new naira notes scarcity.

The protesters, who carried placards with different inscriptions, drummed as they called for a better Nigeria and a reduced cost of living for the citizens of the country.

The protesters demanded sanction for bank managers in the state for hoarding the new naira notes and asked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, to prevail on the fuel marketers to find an urgent solution to the protracted scarcity.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, the Africa Democratic Party’s House of Reps candidate in the state, Mr Ukuanove Odimbu, said the hardship meted out on the common man on the street arising through the fuel hike and hoarding of the new naira notes was becoming unbearable.

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BIG STORY

Avoid Panic Buying, We’re Not Changing Petrol Prices — NNPCL To Nigerians

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8 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says there is no place to change the prices of petroleum products.

In a statement on Thursday by Femi Soneye, its spokesperson, the NNPC asked Nigerians to avoid panic buying.

The national oil firm said the limited availability of petrol in certain regions of the nation is a result of logistical problems.

However, the company said the challenge has been fixed.

“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) wishes to clarify that the tightness in the supply of Premium Motor Spirit currently being experienced in some areas across the country is as a result of logistics issues and that they have been resolved,” the statement reads.

“It also wishes to reiterate that the prices of petroleum products are not changing.

“It urges Nigerians to avoid panic buying as there is a sufficiency of products in the country.”

On March 24, the NNPC denied adjusting the pump price of petrol across its retail outlets.

This came after the organisation had promised Nigerians that there would not be any increase in the cost of petrol on February 9.

The NNPC also reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining the current sufficiency in the supply of petroleum products across all its retail stations in the country.

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BIG STORY

Former Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi Wins Ondo PDP Gubernatorial Primary

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8 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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A former deputy governor of Ondo, Agboola Ajayi, has emerge winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial primary election in the state.

Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the deputy governor of Bayelsa, who chaired the electoral committee that supervised the poll, announced the results on Thursday in Akure, the state capital.

Ewhrudjakpo said Ajayi scored 264 votes to defeat other aspirants.

“By virtue of the results, Ajayi Alfred Agboola having scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the winner of this primary and hereby declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the November 2024 election and is hereby returned as the candidate,” he said.

Ajayi was the deputy governor of Ondo state from 2017 to 2021.

Kolade Akinjo, who came second in the election scored 157 votes while Olusola Ebiseni polled 99 votes to clinch the third position.

On June 21, 2020, Ajayi, a lawyer and businessman, resigned his membership from the ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the PDP.

He cited irreconcilable differences between him and his principal, the late Rotimi Akeredolu, the former governor of Ondo.

He then joined the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) after losing the PDP gubernatorial primary to Eyitayo Jegede and became the candidate of the party in 2020.

Ajayi had served as a councillor, chairman of Ese-Odo LGA, and house of representatives member before he was nominated by the late Akeredolu as his deputy in 2016.

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BIG STORY

Former Senate Spokesperson Ayogu Eze Dies At 66

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13 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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Ayogu Eze, a former spokesperson for the Senate, passed away at the age of 66.

Eze, the senator from Enugu North Senatorial District from 2007 to 2015, died on Thursday in a hospital in Abuja following an undisclosed illness.

In May 2023, the Senate confirmed Eze as a federal Commissioner for Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission. Eze is also among the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party.

In his years at the Senate, he also served as the chairman of the Senate Committee of Works and a member of committees on Constitutional Amendment, Police Affairs, National Planning, Marine Transport and Federal Character & Inter-Government Affairs.

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