Subsidy Removal: Civil Servants, Traders Trek aS Commercial Drivers Withdraw Service in Osun

Civil servants, traders and other members of the public in Osogbo, the capital of Osun state were the first to be hit by the hardship of the fuel subsidy removal, as they trekked to their various destinations.

Commercial mini-buses popularly called korope in the state withdrew their services on Thursday in protest against the deregulation of the downstream oil sector announced by the Federal Government.

The development forced members of the public who relied on korope to reach their various destinations were shocked to see the commercial mini-buses parking by the roadside and refused to carry passengers.

The union leaders of the commercial drivers had trooped to the street in the morning, directing other members to drop their passengers and join the protest.

They insisted that the new petroleum pump price of N145 must be reversed, arguing that the deregulation did not favour commercial drivers.

They noted that paucity of funds has prevented people from paying the charge fees.

Declaring an increment on the drop charge, the commercial drivers maintained that a drop would be charged minimum of N50 to commensurate the increment in the amount they use to buy fuel.

CityMirrorNews visited the NNPC Mega station in Osogbo and discovered that it was selling N145 per litre, just as other filling stations in the state capital were selling between N150 and N170.