[PICTORIAL] Osun protesters observe jumaat prayers on road

Residents of Osun State mainly youths on Friday continued the protest in Osogbo, the state capital, demanding reversal of fuel subsidy removal and stoppage of naira devaluation.

The #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest had commenced in the state on Thursday and at the Friday procession, the protesters, who converged on Friday Park, Osogbo, were accompanied by police operatives, men and officers of Nigeria Civil Defence Corps and Nigeria Immigration Service, alongside operatives of Department of State Security.

Moving through MDS road to Olaiya Junction before heading to Odi-Olowo Street, Osogbo, the protesters accused the federal and state governments of inflicting hardship on Nigerians, insisting that the protest would continue until their demands were met.

The protesters after returning to Olaiya Junction, performed ablution and observed jumaat on the road, while security men who went across the town with them, provided cover while the prayers lasted.

After the prayers, led by one of the protesters, the participants dispersed.

Speaking with journalists, the convener of Nigeria for Good Governance, Wole Oladapo, accused the Federal and State Governments of misplaced priority, adding that the current protest would be a test case, as the displeasure of the masses was gradually building up.

Oladapo said, “It keeps getting from bad to worse and we seem to be at the worst now. The president decided to, by fiat remove fuel subsidy. The entire nation has come into jeopardy. To double the jeopardy, they floated the naira and devalued it so terribly.

“We told the federal government when the subsidy would be removed that you can’t rob Peter to pay Paul. We accept subsidy is a scam. But you didn’t sit down to analyse the subsidy regime, you removed it. You took the money from that and gave it to governors, another set of looters and now, Nigerians can no longer survive.

“We knew how state allocation increased since the subsidy was removed but have we seen the effects on the masses? No! In Osun State, under Aregbesola, he recognised that there was poverty among the youth and he took youths and gave them jobs and they contributed to the economy of the state through the job he gave them.

“That continued until Governor Adeleke came into office. In the almost 2 years, we have not seen anything. In 2 terms, Aregbesola did 40,000 youth employment, this administration has not done one even though the money that Tinubu took from Nigerians and gave to the governors has led to an increase in allocation to the state.

He said that the resources of the local government had been cornered by the state.

He further stated that their aim was to inform the President, National Assembly members, and governors that the anger of Nigerians had not yet begun, but when it did, they might not survive it.

“That is why they should listen to what the masses are saying at a gathering like this. Our demands include; return fuel subsidy, stopping the devaluation of the naira, open borders for food to come in. Tinubu is doing a road for N15 trillion naira at the expense of the people. The same thing is happening in Osun,” he added.

Also speaking, the Osun Coordinator of Coalition of Concern Nigeria Citizen, Adetunji Ajala, said measures were in place to ensure that the protest remain peaceful.