Residents of Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, have taken to the streets to protest the lingering petrol and the scarcity of Naira notes scarcity across the country.
Governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress had a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari earlier on Friday where he promised to find a solution to the new Naira notes crisis.
Last October, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele announced the plan to redesign the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, and asked Nigerians to deposit their old notes before 31 January when they would cease to be legal tender.
The deadline has now been shifted to to 10 February – five working days away – but Nigerians continue to experience harsh obtaining the notes with merchants applying exhorbitant transaction charges.
The country has also experienced a long-drawn petrol shortage with stations selling at outragious prices.
A resident of Ibadan, Ahmed Hamzat told TheCable that the protesters in the Oyo State capital started a bonfire near the Government House before they were dispersed by police officers.
He said the activities of the protesters resulted in traffic congestion.
“The protest started at the Agodi gate, at the intersection that leads to the state Secretariat and the Government House. The protesters started a fire near the Secretariat and around the spare parts market but they were quickly dispersed by security personnel (Operation Burst) from the Secretariat.
“But the protesters didn’t leave the market. They continued bonfires and this situation has now caused vehicular obstruction around those areas, even leading to Iwo Road. The protest is hot. The people are tired of the long queues at banks and at petrol stations,” Hamzat said.
Another witness, who identified himself as Pelumi, said, “there is trouble” in Ibadan, as “protesters have started burning tyres in different areas of the state”.
He said that operatives of the regional security outfit, Amotekun are “trying to disperse the protesters”.
“There is trouble in Ibadan right now. I’m at Beere area presently. They have been burning tyres everywhere, from Beere’s Bus Stop to Adekile, Labiran, everywhere, the protesters are burning tyres”, he added.
Another resident, Tayo Lawal said that operators of Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals are also being attacked in some parts of the state over the exorbitant fees they charge for transactions.
“The protest is about the fuel scarcity and Naira.
“It started around the spare parts market in Agodi-gate and has spread to other areas.
“POS operators are also being attacked because of the high fee they are charging on withdrawal”, Lawal said.
The resident said the protesters accused the PoS operators of collaborating with bank officials to withdraw large sums of the new Naira notes while ordinary persons get little amounts after queuing for long hours.
