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#NigeriaAt64: Protesters Gather In Lagos, Abuja Over High Living Costs
As Nigeria celebrates 64 years of independence from British colonial rule on Tuesday, thousands of citizens gathered in the nation’s economic and political capitals, Lagos and Abuja, respectively, to protest high living and energy costs in Africa’s most populous nation.
For them, it is not a time for celebration as they called on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to address the soaring inflation and unprecedented economic hardship in the country.
The October 1, 2024 protest, tagged “FearlessInOctober”, was propagated on social media, some two months after the August #EndBadGovernance protests.
The two demonstrations are synonymous in themes as aggrieved young people demand a reversal of petrol subsidy removal and electricity tariff increase.
On Tuesday, protesters gathered at the Utako area in Abuja, the country’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), waving the Nigerian Green-White-Green flag and banners with various inscriptions such as “EndBadGovernance”, “DiasporaVoting”, “EndHighLivingCosts”, amongst others.
In Lagos, around the state capital in Ikeja, the situation was the same as youths besieged the popular Ikeja UnderBridge area, with vehicular movement at a standstill on a day already declared a public holiday by the government for the celebration of Nigeria’s independence.
The protesters in Lagos also wielded large-format banners with boldly encrusted statements like, “Hunger Dey”, and “Reverse Anti-People, Neoliberal Policies Of Privatisation, Deregulation and Devaluation of Naira”, among others.
Activist Omoyele Sowore was spotted at the Lagos venue of the rally where he and other demonstrators geared up to march to the iconic and eponymous Gani Fawehinmi Park in the ever-busy Ojota area of Lagos to continue the protest against what they have termed anti-government policies.
Both in Lagos and Abuja, scores of security agents were seen on alert at the protest locations where they maintained a respectable distance from the demonstrators.
Aside from Lagos and Abuja, defiant protesters also gathered in some of Nigeria’s 36 states to trumpet their demands.
The protests were held despite many warnings and dissuations from the government and security agencies.
Critics have faulted Tinubu’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of the foreign exchange rates which many Nigerians believed were responsible for the unimaginable inflation and soaring living and energy costs in the country.
Energy costs have more than tripled since Tinubu took up the reins of government on May 29, 2023.
Petrol prices per litre jumped up from around N200 to over N1,000 whilst electricity tariff quadrupled, impacting the manufacturing sector and the pocket of Nigerian households.
During his second Independence Day Anniversary Broadcast on Tuesday, Tinubu pleaded for more patience and time, saying his administration is retooling its economic policies for the good of common Nigerians.
The former Lagos governor sympathised with Nigerians over the economic hardship his reforms might have caused whilst he assured them that his administration had been busy implementing measures to bring down the skyrocketing cost of living.
News
Tinubu appoints Lamido Yuguda as CBN’s Deputy Governor
Lamido Yuguda’s last public post was as director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a position he held from 2020 to 2024.
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Lamido Abubakar Yuguda as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
The appointment is in accordance with Section 8(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.
This was disclosed on Wednesday by the presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.
The President charges Yuguda to discharge his responsibilities with renewed dedication, professionalism, and commitment to Nigeria’s economic stability and growth.
Lamido Yuguda’s last public post was as director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a position he held from 2020 to 2024.
He is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, where he graduated in 1983 with a B.Sc. in Accountancy.
In 1991, he obtained a master’s degree in Money, Banking and Finance from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a CFA charterholder.
He began his career in 1984 at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a Senior Supervisor in the Foreign Operations Department.
He also worked as an economist in the Africa Department of the International Monetary Fund from 1997 to 2001, when he returned to the CBN.
He retired from the CBN in 2016, after he had served as Director of the Reserve Management Department for six years.
News
JUST IN: IGP Disu Assigns Portfolios to New DIGs
DIG Zachariah Fera Achinyan has been deployed to Legal Services, DIG Zango Ibrahim Baba to Research and Planning, and DIG Isyaku Mohammed to Training and Development departments.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Olatunji Disu has assigned the new Deputy Inspectors -General of Police (DIGs) their duties responsibilities.
Sources said that the DIGs were assigned departments based on their areas of competence.
DIG Zachariah Fera Achinyan has been deployed to Legal Services,
DIG Zango Ibrahim Baba to Research and Planning, and DIG Isyaku Mohammed to Training and Development departments.
Similarly, DIG Margaret Agebe Ochalla has been posted to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID);
DIG Mohammed Abdul Sulaiman to Finance and Accounts; DIG Kenechukwu Onwuemelie will oversee the Force Intelligence Department (FID); DIG Fayoade Adegoke will head Information and Communication Technology, while DIG Umar Shehu Nadada has been posted to Operations departments.
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Airport Access Gates: FG Approves Cash and FAAN Go Cashless Cards for Payment
The statement also noted that motorists who already possess FAAN Go Cashless Cards can continue using them until further notice.
In addition, other electronic payment channels, including Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals and approved digital platforms, will remain available
The Federal Government has directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to accept both cash and electronic payments at airport access gates nationwide, as part of efforts to ease traffic congestion.
The directive followed a meeting between the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development and officials of the FAAN, alongside senior officials of the ministry, on Tuesday.
The move comes after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered the suspension of the full cashless payment system at airport access gates following complaints that it had caused traffic gridlocks.
In a statement issued in Abuja by the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Tunde Moshood, the government has resolved to gradually transition to a fully automated payment system at airport access points.
As part of the interim measures, the ministry announced that a hybrid payment system allowing both cash and card payments will take effect at all airport access gates from March 13, 2026.
The statement also noted that motorists who already possess FAAN Go Cashless Cards can continue using them until further notice.In addition, other electronic payment channels, including Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals and approved digital platforms, will remain available
Tinubu appoints Lamido Yuguda as CBN’s Deputy Governor
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