Fuel, Naira Notes Protest Stalls Obi’s Appearance in Ibadan Parley

Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

The protest on scarcity of fuel and new naira notes rocking some parts of Ibadan, Oyo State yesterday stalled the appearance of the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi at a forum.

Obi was billed to attend a presidential parley organised by the South-West Development Stakeholders Forum (SWDSF) at Jogor Events Centre in Ibadan.

There were pockets of protests by some aggrieved youths across the city over non-availability of the new naira notes and fuel, which led to loss of lives and property.

Many supporters of Obi, who had thronged the venue of the forum since 8.00 a.m., went home disappointed, having sat for hours without seeing the presidential candidate due to security reasons.

Obi, whose chopper reportedly landed at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium in Ibadan in the afternoon, was prevented from featuring in the programme by his Campaign Director-General, Mr Akin Osuntokun, for security reasons.

Speaking on the development, Chairman of the Forum and Publisher of Alaroye Weekly Magazine, Mr Adedayo Alao later dispersed Obi’s supporters, assuring them that the parley would be reconvened on another date.

Alao, however, decried the hardship, which Nigerians were going through as a result of scarcity of fuel and new naira notes.

He said that Obi’s life was at risk due to possible hijacking of the programme by unsuspecting elements.

Alao urged concerned authorities to prevail on the situation and entrenched normalcy so as to enable the people to go about their lawful activities.

The platform was for the South-West people to hear directly from the candidates on how they intend to address issues of insecurity and the worsening quality of life in the region.

The parley aims at promoting the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN), a non-partisan blueprint jointly prepared by the six states in the geopolitical zone.

It is for the region’s security and socioeconomic development. It also aims at championing the development plans of the South-West people and finding common grounds among the presidential manifestoes.

Obi’s attendance would have made it a total of six presidential candidates that had featured on the presidential parley series since it started on January 17.