Protests Surges as Fuel Scarcity Worsens Nigeria’s Crisis of High Living Cost 

Fuel queues have appeared across the nation in the wake of the strike by petroleum truck drivers on Monday, February 19, 2024, worsening the situation of Nigerians facing an ongoing increase of living expenses.

The NLC is preparing a nationwide protest regarding Nigeria’s economic state.

Major cities including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Kaduna, Lagos, Abeokuta, and Port Harcourt have reported fuel queues. 

The fuel crisis resulted from the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners’ order to its members that, as a result of the high operating costs, they should not use their trucks for the delivery of petroleum products starting on Monday, February 19, 2024.

The association claimed in a recent letter to the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) that the “excruciating challenges” its members face prevent them from carrying out their daily business and that their attempts to persuade the relevant authorities to take action to improve their situation have failed.

However, there have been protests in several parts of the nation due to the ongoing food and living expenses crisis. 

The capital of Oyo State, Ibadan, saw a disruption in business operations on Monday as young people protested the nation’s economic state.

The demonstration, which is said to have originated at the Mokola roundabout in the center of Ibadan, spread to other populated locations such as Agbowo, Ojoo, Sango, Bodija, Ekotedo, and Onireke.

The young people demonstrating held placards with messages urging President Bola Tinubu to fulfill his pledge of “Renewed Hope” and put an end to the country’s economic suffering.

In the meantime, organized labor has begun organizing its members nationally for the February 27 and 28 nationwide protest.

The Nigeria Labour Congress’s Head of Information, Benson Upah, confirmed the development to ThePunch in an interview, stating that NLC affiliates are also being organized for the demonstration.

He insisted that since nothing had changed to justify it, the NLC would not call off or reschedule the demonstration.

Recall that citizens of Kano and Minna staged rallies against the nation’s economic state of affairs earlier in February, demonstrating against the hardships they were experiencing.

The protesters cited the rising prices of essential food items and what they perceive as inadequate government measures to address the economic challenges as reasons for their actions.