Residents of Minna, the capital of Niger State, have taken to the streets and blocked major roads in a demonstration of their frustration against the rising cost of living in the country.
The protesters came out in their numbers on Monday, protesting the increasing prices of food and other essential commodities as they demand attention to their pressing economic concerns.
The protestors blocked the Minna-Bida Road at the Kpakungu roundabout, causing disruptions to vehicular movement on Monday morning.
Advertisement
According to reports, tensions escalated when an attempt by the police to intervene was met with resistance, prompting officers to fire shots into the air to disperse the crowd
Confirming the development to THE WHISTLER, the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, said some arrests have been made and normalcy restored in the state.
“The road from Bida to Minna axis was completely blocked by protesters and we deployed our team to the area immediately, and after a series of dialogues and discussions, they refused to open the road.
“The road was blocked to stand still, and it’s a major road where people are supposed to have access to their place of work. Motorists were obstructed from going about their lawful businesses.
“Along the line, His Excellency the deputy Governor drove to the place to discuss and convince these people to be able to open the road.
“Unfortunately they refused and as a result of that, we had to adopt a minimum force through which we were able to clear the protesters, we dispersed them and the road was cleared.
“Normalcy has been restored and there is free flow of traffic. However, our men are still on ground and monitoring continues,” said Wasiu.
THE WHISTLER earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, sparked debate on social media after asserting at the weekend that Nigerians enjoy the lowest cost of living in Africa.
While some Nigerians doubt the accuracy of the claim, data from Numbeo.com, the world’s largest cost of living database, lends credibility to Onanuga’s statement.
The Cost of Living Index measures the relative prices of groceries, restaurants, transportation and other consumer goods, excluding rent. On average, Numbeo estimates the cost of living in Nigeria to be 74% lower than in the United States.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s 2023 Minimum Wage report revealed that the cost of basic food items required for survival by an average Nigerian family rose by 17.5 percent, From N40,980 in January 2023 to N48,130 in the same period of last year.