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Commercial activities were yesterday grounded in Ondo State as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the State in conjunction with civil liberty organizations, engaged in mass rallies to demand the reversal of the decision to remove subsidy on fuel by the Federal Government.
Residents of Akure, the State capital, both in public and private sectors, complied with the directive of the national body of the labour unions to shun economic and social activities in protest against the hike in fuel prices.
Markets, shops, government offices, filling stations and banks were all under lock and key and people of the State, both young and old, participated in the peaceful procession. Some youths also barricaded the adjoining streets to ensure strict compliance while children turned the roads to temporary football pitches.
The protesters, comprising the leadership of the NLC, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), artisans, market men and women, drivers and unemployed youths, converged at the NLC Secretariat, Alagbaka, Akure, at about 7.30am and stormed the town with placards bearing inscriptions condemning the policy of the government and chanting anti- government songs.
The protesters in their numbers marched round the major areas in Akure, from the Firstbank area in Alagbaka to the popular Adesida/Oyemekun road, Cathedral, Ondo road, Arakale road and then back to the GRA where the march terminated in the afternoon.
Other residents who did not participate in the protest march stayed indoors while others gathered in groups discussing the situation in the country.
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