Nigerians in the southwest have expressed displeasure with the new price band of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol.
Residents in Osogbo, Osun State’s capital woke up on Thursday morning to a protest by operators of commercial mini buses popularly known as ‘Korope’, in response to the 145 Naira per litre price band of petrol announced by the Federal Government.
The operators between the hours of 8:00AM and 12 noon, parked their buses along the roads in the town to protest the new pump price, leaving people going to their offices and businesses stranded.
They also used the medium to create awareness for the increase in transport fares from the range of 30 and 50 Naira to 50 and 80 Naira, depending on the distance.
Some of the commercial operators, Omoloye Oladapo and Tajudeen Olayemi, stressed that buying petrol at the rate of 145 Naira would definitely lead to increase in transportation fare.
A resident of Osogbo, Abdulkareem Olatunji, described the decision of the commercial drivers to down tool for some hours as unfair to the people, saying that it has affected their daily activities.
Residents of Ibadan in Oyo State are also crying out to the Federal Government to critically examine its decision on the fuel price increase, to alleviate the suffering of the masses.
Going round the Ibadan metropolis, Channels Television crew found few petrol service stations selling at the new price band of 145 Naira per litre while majority were not selling.
Some of the motorists stated that they had been on queue as early as 5:00AM in some filling stations without a hope of getting fuel.
Outrage and frustration were some of the emotions expressed by residents who spoke to Channels Television on the new price of petrol.
.....Channels TV