By Abdulhakeem Garba

Commercial tricycles and motorcycle riders on Thursday took to the streets to protest soaring fuel prices in Kwara State.

They staged their protest in major parts of the metropolis like Oloje, Oko Olowo and Zango in the Ilorin East and Ilorin West local government areas of the state, among others, expressing anger at not being able to recoup money spent on buying fuel after daily operation.

The protests left commuters stranded in Ilorin, the state capital as they had harrowing experience boarding the motorcycles and tricycles.

The situation forced many commuters to resort to trekking long distance to get to their different destinations.

One of the tricycle operators, Taye Dhikhrulahi, said that they are not even thinking of making profit for now, adding that getting back the money spent on buying fuel after the operation is difficult.

He said the government needed to do something urgent to save small businesses from collapse, while he appealed to the federal government to intervene to enable them to remain in business.

The protest also caused significant disruptions in the city as many motorists were forced to turn back or find alternative routes. Shop owners along the popular Ibrahim Taiwo road have also been affected, with some forced to close their businesses temporarily.

Meanwhile, Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has directed the immediate deployment of buses to different parts of the metropolis to ease the movement of commuters.

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, the buses would be boarded free of charge.

“The buses are to take people to the most central destinations free of charge. We hope that persons attending the SUBEB job placement interviews would find this helpful, particularly in the metropolis,” the statement said.

The governor also appealed to transporters and members of the public to exercise patience over the new fuel price hike, saying different government stakeholders are reviewing the situation with public good as a top priority.

“The inconveniences are regretted, and we are confident that things will ease as soon as possible,” it added.

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