Less than 72 hours to the scheduled commencement of the much-talked about hardship protest in the country, some youths have trooped to the streets of Niger State to protest the ongoing skyrocketing cost of living and its attendant hardship in Nigeria.
They wielded placards such as ‘Enough is Enough’; ‘Stop Anti-Masses Policies’; ‘We Are Not Slaves In Our Country’; ‘Hardship Is Unbearable’, ‘Fuel Subsidy Must Be Back’, among others.
The protesters marched on the streets as they chanted anti-government songs.
Our correspondent saw some of the protesters on Abuja-Kaduna expressway and attempted to speak with them but they declined.
The Federal and State governments had made several efforts to stop the protest, saying it could be hijacked by hoodlums and enemies of democracy.
Last week, Governor Mohammed Bago had wooed residents of Niger with welfare packages to prevent the protest.
He had announced a N20,000 wage allowance for state and local government civil servants, ordered the immediate release of 50,000 metric tonnes of assorted grains to be sold at subsidised rates to mitigate the current economic hardship.
“We have over 100,000 metric tonnes of food in our reserves, out of which we will be releasing 50,000 metric tonnes to be sold at 50% of its present price. Before the end of the year, we will slash food prices by 90%,” he had said at a townhall meeting.
To show appreciation for their efforts in combating banditry, insurgency, and other criminal activities, the governor announced a gift of one Prado Jeep to each head of security agency in the state.
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