Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, has been gripped by a wave of protests as commercial tricycle operators took to the streets, withdrawing their services in response to the recent hike in petrol pump prices. The demonstration, which erupted along the busy Maraba-GSS Fate Road, saw tricycle operators blocking major roads, venting their frustration over the soaring cost of living exacerbated by the rising price of fuel.<\/p>\n
The operators, who form a vital part of the city’s public transport system, expressed their anger at the significant increase in operating costs brought about by the hike in fuel prices. Many lamented that the situation was becoming unbearable, as the higher fuel prices have drastically reduced their earnings while also driving up the cost of spare parts and vehicle maintenance.<\/p>\n
A large number of operators, along with disgruntled commuters, gathered on the streets, chanting slogans and demanding that the government address the crippling economic situation. The protesters decried the government’s inability to provide relief amid the harsh economic realities, stating that they could no longer afford to operate under the current circumstances.<\/p>\n
“We are struggling to survive. Every day, the price of fuel goes up, and so do our costs. How are we supposed to continue working like this? The government needs to take action before we are all out of business,” one tricycle operator said during the protest.<\/p>\n
As a result of the strike, residents of Ilorin who rely heavily on tricycles for their daily commute were left stranded. Many were seen trekking long distances under the scorching sun to reach their destinations. The withdrawal of services has had a profound impact on movement within the city, particularly for students, traders, and low-income workers, who depend on tricycles for affordable transportation.<\/p>\n
“I had to walk nearly an hour to get to work today because there were no tricycles. This is really difficult for everyone, and I don’t know how long this will last,” a resident shared, visibly frustrated by the situation.<\/p>\n
As the protest escalated, security forces, including the Nigerian police, were deployed to the scene in an attempt to restore order. However, tensions flared as protesters resisted police efforts, leading to a confrontation. Our correspondent, who was present at the scene, witnessed the use of tear gas by the police to disperse the growing crowd of tricycle operators and commuters. The sudden release of tear gas caused chaos, with people scattering in various directions to avoid inhaling the fumes.<\/p>\n
The heavy presence of security forces did little to quell the underlying discontent, as many operators remained defiant. “We are not afraid of tear gas. We will continue protesting until the government hears our cries. The hardship in this country is too much,” one of the protesting operators shouted as he retreated from the tear gas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, has been gripped by a wave of protests as commercial tricycle operators took to the streets, withdrawing their services in response to the recent hike in petrol pump prices. The demonstration, which erupted along the busy Maraba-GSS Fate Road, saw tricycle operators blocking major roads, venting their frustration over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-47322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47322"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47324,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47322\/revisions\/47324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}