Tension as Edo pensioners, transporters protest poor pay, ticket fees

Thousands of commuters were stranded in Benin City, Edo State, on Wednesday, as commercial drivers halted their operations over the increase in ticket fee, while retirees also took to the city centre to protest the pittance they receive as pension every month.

The drivers accused the Edo State Government of increasing the daily ticket fee from N800 to N2,000.

Passengers had to resort to trekking after buses coming from Ugbowo were made to drop their passengers at Five Junctions, about three kilometres from the Ring Road. The angry drivers were also seen at other parts of the city urging their colleagues to join the protest.

One of the drivers, Solomon Agbovaire, said the state government increased the ticket fee from N800 per day to N2,000 on Tuesday, which did not go down well with members of all the transport unions in the state.

“Passengers will have to trek since the government wants to kill us. We are asked to be paying N2,000 daily for a ticket as against the N800 we paid previously. This is unacceptable,” he stated.

Ifeoma Iroha, one of the affected passengers, said it was a height of insensitivity on the part of the state government to increase the fee amidst the prevailing harsh economic situation.

Iroha lamented how she was forced to trek to her destination despite paying the full transport fare.

She stated, “I am going to Ring Road, but we were stopped at Five Junctions, which is about five kilometres to the bus stop. We were all forced to disembark from the bus and they forcefully collected the fare from us.

“This is frustrating because my journey has ended abruptly. I will still have to proceed. As it is now, I don’t know how long I will have to trek to my destination.” Punch