BREAKING: Bayelsa Residents Invade Warehouse Housing Palliatives Amid Hardship In Nigeria
Some residents broke into a warehouse where palliatives were kept by the Bayelsa State government in Yenagoa on Sunday.
The warehouse is located along Isaac Boro Expressway in the state capital.
Inside gathered people were angered due to the hardship in the country occasioned by the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol.
The subsidy removal moved up the prices of petrol from around N190 to about N620 per litre and this has adversely affected the prices of goods and services.
Subsequently, the administration of President Bola Tinubu promised to provide palliatives for Nigerians to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy. It later announced that N5 billion would be provided for each state and the Federal Capital Territory and foodstuffs to be shared among Nigerians.
It was not clear if the warehouse looted in Yenagoa housed food items promised by Tinubu’s administration but SaharaReporters confirmed that it contained palliatives meant for victims of the 2022 flooding, which has been described as one of the worst floods in Nigeria’s history.
Inside Port Harcourt learnt that some of the food items have expired. However, that did not stop the residents from looting the warehouse.
The state government has yet to comment on the incident.
This is a reminder of the ugly incidents of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when residents in some states looted warehouses where palliatives were stored.
For instance, at least four persons were reportedly killed when angry residents stormed a warehouse located along the Murtala Muhammed Way, close to Kpata market in October 2020.
Similarly, during the pandemic, angry youths in Osun stormed a warehouse in Ede town, where COVID-19 palliatives were allegedly stored and carted away food items.
The youths stormed the moribund Cocoa-Ceramic Industry in Ede where the palliatives were stored and carted away beans, noodles, sugar, salt, garri, rice, pasta and other items.
