Fuel price increase: Ogun state students protests, criticize Governor Abiodun over support

Yanju Uwala in Abeokuta

The National Association of Students (NANS), Ogun Joint Campus Committee (Ogun JCC) and the National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS), on Tuesday protested against the increment in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol and electricity tariff by the Federal government.

Penpushing reports that the Nigerian Government had last week increased the price of petrol from N138.62 to N151.56, however,the the students, described the increment as “anti-masses and inhumane”.

The protesting students while carrying placards at the state secretariat of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, wrote: “NANS says no to hike in PMS pump price, hike in electricity tariff, hike in stamp duty”, “It is anti-masses and anti-poor”, “Nigerian students demand immediate reversal” and “We say no to anti-masses policies of the government”, among others.

Penpushing also reports that the students knocked the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun for backing the federal government’s “anti-masses” policy, saying they were disappointed by the Governor’s action.

The Governor, a major oil marketer, it is recalled  had declared support for the policy when he visited President Mohammadu Buhari at the State House last week, but the the students during the protest insisted that the governor was not speaking the minds of the people and demanded that he withdraw his statement.

Penpushing reports that, the protesters lamented that the increment would further compound the woes of the people and called on President Muhammed Buhari to immediately reverse the increment.

The Chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Students(NANS), Comrade Tomiwa Bamgbose while speaking with journalists accused the government of being insensitive to the plights of the people.

“We believe that our students are the end receivers of this anti-masses and anti-poor policy because an increment in the price of petroleum is an increment in the cost of transportation’, he posited.

“And now that our students are going back to school, they will have issues, the salaries of their parents have not been increased, the government has not put in place some measures to reduce the suffering of our people’, he emphasised.

“Having being greeted by COVID-19 at the beginning of this year, for our government to be coming again at this time of the day with this increment in price shows that our leaders are selfish and they don’t have the interest of the people at heart’.

“When we heard the governor supporting the increment in PMS pump price last week, we were disappointed that our highly placed governor could place the ambition of the party against the good will of the people’.

“We are disappointed at the statement of the governor and we have asked him to withdraw that statement and also go back to the President and let him know that the people are not with him on this”, Bamgbose said.

Penpushing further reports that while addressing the students, the state Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Emmanuel Bankole called on every Nigerian to raise up and reject the increment.

“All of us must rally together, poverty does not know religion, it does not recognise ethnicity or tribalism, poverty is poverty. It is left for you and I to see the times ahead and to know that it calls for everyone’s commitment’, Bankole said.

“You (students) have spoken loud for the leaders of this country to know that you know what is happening and never again will you allow your future to be trampled on or for some people to be playing on your future. On the part of the NLC, I want to assure you that we shall always be there to give you the support that you need any time where necessary”, he said.