Fish sellers in Ogun state, trooped out on Tuesday to the governor’s office in Abeokuta, the state capital, to protest the abnormal hike in prices of fish, of which they claim the hike is 100 per cent.
This happened barely a week after fish sellers in the Sagamu area of the state stormed the palace of the Akarigbo and Paramount ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, to register their displeasure over the increasing prices of fish.
The protesters, under the aegis of the Fish and Seafood Sellers Association of Nigeria, had placards with various inscriptions.
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 have 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 price increase.
“The issue of fish is not just about Ogun state, it is something that cuts across the nation, there has to be a holistic approach to the problem”. She said