Hardship: Fresh protest breaks out in Niger State

Two days after protesters stormed the streets of Minna, Niger State capital, over the rising cost of living, protesters have hit the streets of Suleja, also in Niger.

Suleja is about 46 kilometres away from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The protesters called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to end the hardship because they were subjected to it.

They carried placards with inscriptions such as “Tinubu, Do Something Now!”; “Leadership Is All About Improving Lives”; “Nigerians Are Suffering”; “Stop The Hardship Now”, among others as reported by Daily Trust.

A group of women had blocked the Minna-Bida Road at the popular Kpakungu roundabout to express their grievances over the rising cost of food items.

A former National Vice Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North West, Salihu Mohammed Lukman, said President Tinubu will ignore the protests over the high cost of living at his peril.

Meanwhile, the federal government on Tuesday convened an emergency meeting over the protests.

The meeting was presided over by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, expressed President Tinubu’s worry over the development.

He said there was enough food in the country, adding that some elements were trying to take advantage of the high food prices and the depreciation of the naira to cause havoc.