Again, fish sellers protest soaring prices
By Omobolaji Adekunle, Abeokuta
Barely a week after fish sellers in Sagamu raised alarm over hike in fish prices, the fish sellers on Tuesday stormed the Ogun State Governor’s Office In Abeokuta to protest the hike in the price of Fish.
The protesters, under the aegis of the Fish and Seafood Sellers Association of Nigeria, were armed with placards with different inscriptions, chanting anti-government songs to register their frustration over the development.
The protesters however met heavy resistance from the police and other security personnel who prevented them from gaining access into the premises of the governor’s office.
Angered by this, the fish sellers chanted anti-government songs to express their frustration over the development.
Speaking to journalists the state chairman of the association, Owolabi Onajobi lamented that the ceaseless hike in the prices of fish has forced many of his members out of business.
According to Onajobi, the skyrocketing prices of fish has adversely affected their business as customers blame them for the arbitrary increase.
He called on the government to immediately take action to alleviate the economic hardship caused by the increasing prices of commodities.
“Many of us are shutting down our businesses because we cannot continue to run at a loss. For instance, a carton of Titus we were buying for N45,000 before is now N87,000. We cannot continue like that, this is why we have come to the governor to tell him our plight.
“The government should please look into this and save our business from imminent collapse. We are operating under huge debt, this hardship is too much,” Onajobi said.
Addressing the protesters, the commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Adijat Adeleye appealed to the traders to be more patient with the government, saying the hike in fish is not peculiar to Ogun state alone.
Adeleye said, “To my understanding, I think this is not just happening in Ogun state, fish sellers from other states are also complaining about the increase in price.
“The issue of fish is not just about Ogun state, it is something that cut across the nation, there has to be an holistic approach to the problem.”
