Photos: Students protest electricity and fuel hike in Osogbo and Ibadan

Aggrieved Nigerian students in Osogbo, Osun State, and Ibadan in Oyo state, have taken to the streets to protest the recent increase in electricity tariff and petroleum pump price.



The protesters in Ibadan carried placards with different inscriptions to convey their disapproval while chanting anti-government songs. They condemned the policies of the Buhari-led administration, describing the recent increment in the prices of electricity and fuel as wicked and one that lacked sound judgment.

Speaking to newsmen, the Chairman of the Joint Campus Committee of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Mayowa Opakunle,

''We are out on the streets to register our grievances and show our displeasure at the wicked policies and unjust treatment of Nigerians by the Federal Government.

We say no to fuel price hike and electricity tariff increment at this period when many people have lost their jobs, many have not even been paid salaries for the past six months.

Prices of food, other goods and services have continued to increase while salaries are either being slashed into half for so many while others don’t even get at all.

But despite these hardships, the government has continued to increase prices of commodities. The consistent show of ineptitude and cluelessness on the part of the President and his cabinet is worrisome.”

The protesting students in Osogbo, also carried placards with inscriptions expressing their displeasure over the recent hikes in petroleum products and electricity tariff

On Wednesday, September 2, the Federal Government through the Petroleum Pricing Marketing Company (PPMC) increased the ex-depot price of petrol from N138 to N151.56 per litre, forcing marketers to increase pump price from N148 to N162 per litre.

Also on September 1, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) directed the various electricity distribution companies in the country to begin the implementation of the new electricity tariff regime which will see Nigerians paying more for electricity.