A coalition of civil society groups, The People’s Alternative Movement, yesterday protested the planned hike of petroleum products by the federal government of Nigeria.
The group which comprises civil rights groups in Edo State had earlier warned that it will take to the streets to mobilize the suffering masses and protest what it termed continuous impoverishment of Nigerians by the Nigerian government using fuel subsidy removal and increment of electricity tariff.
The protesters bearing placards with different inscriptions like: “Nigeria belong to us all”; “Abolish poverty, have security “; “Join the campaign now, No to more poverty”; “Support the people’s Alternative Movement” among others had congregated as early as 7.00 am at the ever-busy King’s Square(Ring Road) before taking to the street.
Speaking, the South-south Coordinator of People’s Alternative Movement, Dr. Osagie Obayuwana said, this is the beginning of the campaign for an end to hardship in Nigeria, that an increment on petroleum products would further increase the suffering of the Nigerian people.
“Nigerian remains the poverty capital of the world, the inflation rate in Nigeria is one of the highest in the world. life in Nigeria is a life of hardship, you can understand that a lot of Nigerians are leaving Nigeria on account of this hardship, but the time has come for the issue to be resolved on an ongoing basis, and any policy that presents a hardship to Nigerians, we will take it up.
“This is not an individual thing, we may speak as individuals, but more as an organization,
we are building more links, this kind can only succeed when we come together. Do you know that not all states are obeying the new minimum wage act, do you think of the hardship this imposes on the lowest among us?“This coalition that is coming between the civil society and labor is the kind the civil society can do anything to sustain.”
“To end the problem in the petroleum industry, the Nigerian oil should be refined in Nigeria, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) is anchored on the privatization of the industry. We know that greed works against the collective interest of the people and the mess we found ourselves in this country today are on the account of the greed of a few. The act facilitates the domination of the industry by a few and what it means is that the wealth this country is blessed with will be in the hand of a few people, this will not make for redistribution of the wealth of Nigeria, but rather the rich will be getting richer and the poor will be getting poorer.”
Also speaking, Rev. Father Benedict Onwugbenu, the Coordinator, Justice Development and Peace Commission, Catholic Church, said “we are saying enough to the hardship in the country. It is not what Buhari promised Nigerians that Nigerians are getting today. Buhari led a protest against fuel hike, but today he is doing exactly what he was against.”
The coalition said the protest will continue on the 27th of January.
